The Progression
by Quillian
Summary: Book 1 in my Post Animorphs series, taking it up where KAA left it off... In these days after the age of the Animorphs, some things change, and some things never do change.
1. CHAPTER 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own _Animorphs_, etc. K.A. Applegate holds that honor.

* * *

**_Hello everyone!_** Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Quillian. 

I mainly did stuff for the _Harry Potter_ fandom, but I removed all my stuff off of FFN after some of the recent decisions they made. I essentially refrained from using this site to post my work ever again, but after my old _Animorphs_ interest reawakened and I looked into the fanfiction for that on this site, I decided to take a small trip back, in order to gain an audience and some readers, as well as fulfill some obligations and promises to other people by posting my work here.

I've read plenty of post-series _Animorphs_ fanfics, and it seems I'm not the only one somewhat put out by Applegate's cliffhanger conclusion. However, it is my theory that she wanted to leave it for our imaginations to decide the rest. So, I am giving things a try by writing my own story. There is no real plot in this story alone, but things merely progress, hence this story's title. However, I plan for one to come after it, in which things should get interesting…

My inspiration has been by writers such as **Kharina**, **Anifan1**, **Scorpion**, **Blue Dragon**, **Shane C.**, **lilyofthevalley**, **Edriss**, **Anonymous-cat**, **Tyrsis**,** Korean Pearl**, **LilManiac**, **LittleMidgett**, **Pharrells**** Girl**, and others. I would like to thank them and plenty of other people for inspiring me so. But credit also goes largely to **K.A. Applegate** herself for starting it all.

* * *

**_The Progression_**

_By Quillian_

* * *

_"Story have no end… Stories go on." –Jara Hamee,_ The Hork-Bajir Chronicles

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

My name is Jake.

"Full emergency power to the engines. Ram the Blade ship."

I had just given the orders to initiate the battle between my allies and The One, which would culminate in an outcome which no one could have _ever_ anticipated.

After ramming them (which caused some damage to us, but not too seriously), we hastily docked with them and burst onto the ship.

I gave the instructions to Tobias, Menderash and Santorelli to find Ax and bring him back, while Marco, Jeanne and I fought our way to the helm to take control of the Blade ship.

It had been – what, six years? – since I had started fighting Yeerks and other evil aliens, and yet I just did the same routine as usual: Come up with a plan, give out the orders, and jump into battle.

I guess that some things changed, and some things never would.

* * *

Inch by inch, strike by strike, the three of us fought or way up to the helm of the ship. 

Marco and Jeanne covered for me while I morphed into the tiger once again.

The portal opened –

And something lunged at me with a mighty roar.

_The polar bear._

The blasted Yeerk that had killed Rachel.

Anger coursed through my veins, and I hissed at this rival just as he spoke to me in thought-speech.

(Jake the Yeerk Killer, what an honor this is. My name is Alam 606. I believed I killed that berserker cousin of yours… Rachel, was it? I am pleased to say that you shall be joining her shortly…)

(You first, Yeerk!) Iscreamed in thought-speak, the anger seemingly amplified by the tiger roar that went with it.

She swiped at me, and he missed… But she hit the door panel in the process, causing it to shut down and be stuck.

I fought one of the fiercest battles in my life, against this evil Yeerk. Both of us fought like demons, neither of us gaining much ground. And since both of us were fueled by vengeance, neither of us were going to back down.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity later, the Yeerk made a fatal mistake. In what she thought to be a killer swipe, she instead smashed a control panel, electrocuting herself in the process. As the Yeerk back, scorched and slightly smoking, I went for the kill.

I struck. Again and again, I struck at her, until there was more red than white on her polar bear body. With one final lunged, I swiped at her face –

(This is for you, Rachel.)

–And took her down.

Wheezing terribly, she staggered up. (You think you've won, human? Guess again. Happy trails in hell!)

With the last of her strength, the Yeerk slammed her giant polar bear paw down on an ominous-looking button.

Just as I started demorphing, alarms and lights went off, and alien numerals flashed on the screen.

A self-destruct mechanism. Why was I not surprised?

Cursing under my breath as I finished demorphing, I looked around and found a Dracon beam. Picking it up, I aimed at the door which was still jammed closed, and fired.

TSEW!

Marco and Jeanne were still waiting for me, human and alien bodies all around them. "Menderash says he's got Ax-man, so come on, let's get out of here!" Marco yelled at me over the alarms

"I'm way ahead of you!" I yelled back over all the noise and confusion as the three of us hurried back. I didn't know how much time we had left, but I knew it was not wise to waste so much as half a second in returning to the _Rachel_ and getting out of there.

Menderash, Santorelli and Tobias were all waiting there for me, and we detached from the Blade ship and zoomed away.

But obviously not fast enough.

A blinding explosion from behind us rocked the ship, throwing us out of our seats and all about. I tried to regain control, but when incoming debris hit us from behind, that was when things truly spun out of control.

After hitting my head against the bulkhead, I blacked out.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

A/N: So how's that for a start?

Note about Alam 606: Want to know where I got the idea for her name? It's Latin word _mala_, meaning "evil" (nominative singular) spelled backwards… and as for the number designation, I had first considered using "666," but then thought that would be silly or something. So, instead, I alluded to that infamous command from _Star Wars_ Episode III, _Revenge of the Sith_: _"Execute Order 66."_

Next part is where Jake gets a visit from someone long-gone… _–Quillian_


	2. CHAPTER 2

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

I don't know how long I was out for.

I eventually found myself in an infinite area, where everything was the same color and I couldn't even tell the ground from everything else above the horizon. It was all a plain, off-white color that reminded me of the "loading program" scene from _The Matrix._

Looking around, I could see some sort of mist developing behind me, and it eventually enveloped me… it became so dense I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face…

And then it suddenly all vanished.

I was back in my room. At my old house. Just as it looked before my life as an Animorph started. In fact, I had the strangest feeling that this was just how my room looked before I went out to the mall that fateful night, when I met Elfangor and everything changed forever.

I couldn't help but think to myself, _what the hell was going on here?_

"Hey, Midget."

I immediately spun around and saw him standing in the doorway.

_Tom._

My mind jumped to all sorts of conclusions at once. Had I gone back in time? Was he still a Controller? Did the Ellimist have anything to do with this?

However, after a brief glance at the mirror (in which my present nineteen-year-old self looked back at me), and saw the genuine smile on Tom's face, I knew that this was the present, and that Tom was not a Controller.

"I know what you're thinking, Jake… Is this all a dream? Am I communicating with the dead? Am _I_ dead? Well, regardless of whichever explanation you choose to believe, we need to talk."

I decided to go along with it.

Besides, if all else failed, I could easily morph to defend myself.

Tom sat down next to me on my bed.

"So, you've managed to become a war hero who's saved humanity, on the brink of a new age between humans and other sentient races in the galaxy. Congratulations."

I couldn't help but be disgusted. He was naming what I hated. I didn't _want_ to be a hero.

I couldn't take it anymore, and finally lost my cool at him. "Tom, I gave the order to kill you! How can you possibly sit there like that and look as though it doesn't bother you?"

He didn't seem to be at all fazed by my outburst… but instead looked more concerned for my benefit. "Jake, I agree with you, some of the things you did that fateful day… sending Rachel to kill me, flushing all those Yeerks out into space… are among decisions _no one_ should have to make."

There was a moment of silence before Tom continued.

"Actually, Jake, as bizarre as this may sound… my death was something of a _good_ thing."

I could have fallen over at that point.

"I'd like to think of it as a mercy killing… well, as merciful as it could get, what with Rachel doing it. Still, while I may have been dead, at least I was then free. Dead, but free."

"I know," I said, finally finding my voice. "It's just that… well, I regret…"

"The facts that I spent the last three years of my life as a Controller, and that you never got the chance to tell me things face to face?"

I felt the tears leaking out of my eyes, but also felt no need to wipe them away. Damn it, I was nineteen and felt like a ten-year-old. "Yes," I whispered, almost shamefully.

Tom put his arm around me in a sort of big brother hug. "Okay, let's go over all that, shall we? First off, yes, I agree, it does rather stink that I ended up like that, but then again, what matters more is how well time is spent, and not how much of it one has. I've even heard an old Asian saying somewhere, what was it? Oh yes… 'It is better to live a year as a lion than a thousand years as a sheep.' And for those free years of mine, I was happy. I enjoyed being your brother. Okay, I may not have acted it a lot of the time, but still…"

I nodded my head, understanding.

"And the other thing… not talking to me face to face and finding some closure? Well, hell-o, what do you think we're doing right now?"

I couldn't help but laugh in spite of myself.

"Look, Jake, I can see and understand why you felt that way, and still do somewhere deep inside. Heck, it wouldn't have been right if you didn't. But trust me on this… there are still plenty of opportunities for you out there, and it's not worth it, to dwell on the past and ignore what you have left."

I was moved. I hugged him close, unable to let go for what felt like a small eternity. "Thanks for 'visiting,' Tom. I really appreciate this."

"Heh," Tom shrugged as we separated, "Not really like I had much better to do, and you did need this, so…"

He let that dangle before he remembered something else. "Oh, and if it's not a problem… please tell Mom and Dad I say hi."

"Will do."

He got up, and as he moved to the still-closed door, I said almost casually, "'Bye, Tom."

He turned around and smiled one last time. "'Bye, Jake. See you soon… but hopefully not too soon."

Still smiling, he walked out _through_ the closed door, as if he was a ghost. The mist started to surround me again…

And suddenly, I woke up.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: I don't know about you, but I think Jake needed that.

Also, I know that Jake eventually found a way to move on in Book 54, so this may seem rather pointless. However, I've found from my own experiences with dreams that sometimes, people act different in dreams than in real life, like having trouble distinguishing between that and real life. So, I tried to make that the case here as well.

Next part is where we meet _my_ version of the _Kelbrid_, although not exactly face to face… _–Quillian_


	3. CHAPTER 3

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

**Marco**

"Well, nice to see you're finally awake, Jake."

Rubbing his head, Jake looked around. "Where are we?"

"From what we've gathered, we're in the Kelbrids' custody…" Menderash said, looking slightly nervous as we spoke. Jeanne, Santorelli, and Tobias all concurred with him on this point.

"Well, if we're in their custody, at least it doesn't seem so bad," Santorelli commented.

Actually, I was right. We were in a circular room made of what looked to be like light blue-gray steel or marble, with beds for each of us and a perch for Tobias. About twenty feet above us, the ceiling became concave, ending in a light source. Whether it was a lamp or a window, I wouldn't know.

"They're starting to get good marks as hosts," I commented. "Fed us, fixed us up and everything."

_Well, thank you, Marco._

A voice, not much unlike an Andalite's thought-speech or a Leeran's telepathy, subtly reverberated throughout the room.

"Uh… you're welcome," I said in a small voice.

_Actually, we have something to thank you for, too,_ the voice said in a kindly way, like something you'd expect from a psychologist or grandfatherly figure. _You helped deal a serious blow to The One._

"What's all this about The One?" Jake asked.

The Kelbrid voice seemed to sigh. _The One leads hordes of aliens who are like religious fanatics, based on the ruins of the Yeerk Empire. They consist of the remaining evil Yeerks, plenty of Skrit Na, and Norshk pirates and other various Norshk criminals. Since our truce with the Andalites didn't apply to them, they took advantage of this to use our territory to hide from the Andalites. They are now essentially a cult, not too much unlike some cults found on Earth._

(How exactly do you know about Earth, especially us, for that matter?) Tobias enquired.

_You might not believe how often radio signals from Earth are fired deep into space, and we receive a majority of them. You could say that we get good reception where we live. We were certainly overjoyed to hear of the end of the Yeerk War and the crumbling of the Yeerk Empire. In fact, the Yeerk War was more or less the reason we made the truce with the Andalites._

An awkward silence followed that. "What do you mean by that?" Menderash demanded.

_We did not wish to get caught up on either side of the war, with the Andalites _or _the Yeerks. Like humans, Andalites, or just about any sentient race in the galaxy, for that matter, we are a sentient race who became hostile when threatened. Hence, the truce with the Andalites. However…_

Here, at this point, none of us felt very comfortable.

_We wish to do away with the truce with the Andalites. As a matter of fact, we may need to work with them to vanquish The One. We will excuse War-prince Aximili for his presence in our territories, since he was held captive against his will. Likewise, Menderash, you are also forgiven for your trespass, since you helped defeat The One for now. We know you are a now a _nothlit_ stuck as a human, but that can be considered debatable, since you were an Andalite originally. Either way, it is pointless to debate on that, since you are forgiven._

"Thank you," Menderash said quietly, for lack of anything better to say.

_You're certainly welcome. In fact, we can repay you for your deeds and sacrifices…_

Just then, a small part of the circular wall became all wavy, like water's surface, but still the same color as the rest of the wall. Ever watch _Stargate_ and see the rippling, liquid-like surface inside the ring which people and objects can move through? Well, it was basically like that.

Something long, thin and metallic emerged from the surface, ending in what looked like a sort of radar dish. With a faint humming sound, it tilted to face Menderash, but before he or any of us could react, it shot a distinct orange beam at him.

He shuddered as an orange aura surrounded him, but did not move or scream in pain. A moment later, before our very eyes, he morphed back into the Andalite he once was, and now was again.

The beam faded, and the device retracted back into the wall, which subsequently became solid again.

Menderash looked ecstatic on being an Andalite again. (I cannot possibly express my immense gratitude.)

_It will be as though you never were a _nothlit_, Menderash. You made such a sacrifice to save Prince Aximili. And speaking of which…_

The middle of the floor suddenly took on the same liquid appearance, and out of it rose our old friend Ax. Once he was entirely on our level, the surface became solid again. However, he looked to be asleep or unconscious.

_He has been recuperating under our care after possession by The One. He should be awakening any moment now…_

And as if on cue, Ax woke up.

He took a good look around with all four of his Andalite eyes, taking everything in. (What? How? Where…?)

"Long story short, Ax: The Kelbrid rescued us, fixed us up, forgave the trespass into their territory, and now are considering working with humans and Andalites to stop The One."

It took a moment for him to take this all in, but then Ax finally relaxed. Judging by how he acted, I supposed that the disembodied Kelbrid voice reiterated for him in private communication.

(Thank you,) Ax said out loud, addressing the Kelbrid.

_Once again, you're welcome._

Becoming serious again, the voice addressed us all again.

_The One is the leader of his cult, and can control and possess people. However, he – or, more appropriately, _it _– is not a Yeerk, nor a member of any other species which humans, Andalites or Kelbrid may be familiar with. He cannot die easily, and will not give up. He has been a mortal enemy for us Kelbrid for much too long, and now poses a threat to the entire galaxy, if not the entire universe._

A portion of the wall next to Jake became "liquefied" again, and out popped two metallic arms, each holding small discs in dark plastic covers. One arm extended a disc out to Jake, and the other did the same with Ax.

_Jake, you will need to give this disc to your United Nations, and Aximili, you will need to do the same with your Electorate. It is crucial that they be delivered as soon as possible._

Both Jake and Ax accepted their respective discs, and the arms receded back into the wall, which became "solid" again after that. The moment after that, what looked like an archway formed in a section of the wall, and receded to form a hallway.

_This will lead you back to your ship, the _Rachel_. We took the liberty of restocking it with edible grass, fruits, vegetables and meat. Time is of the essence. Farewell for now. Hurry!_

We didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: I imagined the Kelbrid to be somewhat like humans, in that they're overall good, but harsh, violent and hostile when necessary. Well, okay, I imagined it for the sake of this story, but hey, I'm using my creative license here.

Next part is where the humans and Andalites go back to their respective home worlds to pass along the messages… _–Quillian_


	4. CHAPTER 4

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** This chapter briefly touches upon what may have happened with Sept. 11, 2001, as it happened in this universe. Check _The Beginning_ and you'll see that it was published mere months before 9/11. That final book also mentions terrorism becoming a serious problem with visiting and resident aliens. I realize how much of a sensitive topic this is for lots of people, especially after what just happened recently in London. _My sympathies go out to everyone and anyone who lost someone or something on that terrible day in __New York City__, as well as more recently in London._

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

**Tobias**

A small celebration of sorts took place on board the _Rachel_ as Ax was welcomed back.

(Thank you all for coming to my aid,) he said for all of us to hear as the _Rachel_ zoomed through Z-space.

(Don't mention it,) I said. (You would have done the same for us.)

The thing is, I was Ax's _shorm_, and he was mine, so I knew it to be true. _Shorm_ is an Andalite's tail blade, but for them, it has come to mean a person whom you could completely trust, like a best friend.

Just then, Marco snapped his fingers. "Oh, I just remembered!" He dashed out of the room, and came back in a moment later, hiding something behind his back.

"I have a riddle for you, Ax. What's about a foot in diameter, made and sold on Earth, and something all Andalites with human morphs now crave?"

(A Cinnabon, of course,) Ax said without the slightest hesitation.

"Wow, however did you guess?" Marco asked sarcastically as he revealed the wrapped Cinnabon from behind his back; as he waved it around, all four of Ax's eyes followed it eagerly. "We figured you could use some after being kept prisoner by The One… good thing it's still fresh and edible and –"

"MINE!" Ax declared gleefully, now in human morph and charging at Marco, fingers itching for the Cinnabon. He practically charged Marco down like a football player in his attempt to grab it. Wait, just how fast _did_ he morph into a human so he could devour it?

I shook my head (or at least as best as I could, as a hawk). (Yup, it's him, all right.)

Menderash looked thoroughly shocked at seeing his commanding superior act so… _juvenile_. But then again, I guess he couldn't blame Ax. He was able to regain his composure just as Ax finished devouring his Cinnabon in what I was sure was record time.

"Poor, poor Cinnabon," Marco said aloud, with mock sorrow as he shook his head. "It never stood a chance." Santorelli snickered at this, and Jeanne had to hide a grin.

Ax had now reverted back to his true Andalite form, and was now business again.

(First Officer Menderash,) he said, addressing the only other Andalite on board.

(Prince Aximili.)

(As soon as we are out of Kelbrid space, please send a message to the home world informing them of my rescue. Once we return to Earth, we can go to the home world from there.)

(Yes, Prince Aximili,) he said, bowing dutifully and trotting over to the console.

Things became more relaxed from there as Ax acquainted himself with Santorelli and Jeanne, thanking them again for helping to rescue him. Ax and Jake did some catching up, and in a good sort of way, it was nice to watch them talk like old friends. For the last two years, especially since Visser One's trial, Jake and Ax _very_ rarely were able to contact each other. Both were busy training future soldiers or commanding them; Jake told about his experiences training people even older than himself, Ax talked about the incidents which some clumsy _arisths_ caused every now and then… Time certainly had gone by.

After all was said and done there, he came over to me.

(Hello, Tobias,) he said quietly in what I was sure was private thought-speak.

(Hi, Ax. Long time, no see.)

(That goes without saying. I haven't seen you since Rachel's funeral… not even at Visser One's trial.)

(I heard about that. I've had the past couple of months to catch up with Jake and Marco since we took off to rescue you.)

I couldn't bring myself to talk… I really didn't know what to say.

Deciding to change the topic, Ax commented, (It is good to see Jake doing better.)

(Yeah… then again, we've all changed. No one could go through what we have and _not_ change.) I paused, thinking about things. (Then again, our differences all helped us now again. Me, the reconnaissance person, you, the alien expert… Jake the leader, Rachel the warrior, Marco the opportunist, Cassie the pacifist…)

God, I was _rambling_.

(Elfangor recounted in his _hirac__ delest_ what his prince once told him: Some people are glorified in war, and some it destroys, even if they are among the victors. What's that saying humans have… something about fortune being blind?) Ax said.

(Yeah, I've heard that one before. Fortune must really be blind, especially if you consider how Marco has been quick to indulge in the luxuries ever since the end of the war. I've flown by his spacious new home from time to time; he's really done well for himself. Then again, you can't blame him for being happy, especially with his family reunited. His mom has mostly recovered, his dad has some highly important scientific job…)

(I should know,) Ax said, looking slightly amused. (He was at some of the meetings I held to discuss technological trade between humans and Andalites. I have said now and again that there may not be so much for Andalites to trade with humans because of how fast human science progresses, and he is proof of that. After all, why help those who can help themselves?)

Ax did have a valid point there: While Andalites were definitely more advanced than humans, human science went at a quicker rate than Andalite science had. The Andalites were willing to _slowly_ trade technology, one bit at a time, as not to cause such a major leap in technology and all the chaos that would have come out of it. Most of it went towards commercial purposes and space travel; understandably, weapons were out of the question.

(I heard Marco saying once or twice that he was begging you to try and recreate that program you made once, after we had told him everything.) Neither of us could forget how Ax accidentally helped create something which he later used to contact the Andalite home world.

(No, he did not beg me "on hands and knees," as you would say, but he did keep looking at me in a way which would suggest that he would have done it.)

I had to mentally laugh at the image of that.

(Wait… you said something about Elfangor's… my father's _hirac__ delest_. What happened when that reached your home world? How did people react to that?)

(Well, it did cause a bit of a stir. They did censor some things out, mainly in regards to the Time Matrix and the Ellimist. Although, come to think of it, we also omitted details about the Ellimist, Crayak, David and the Time Matrix in our own accounts, so we are really in no position to criticize there.)

(I have to agree with you on that one. Although… what happened overall, once people learned of Elfangor giving us the power to morph, how did they take it? Were you let off the hook?)

(War-Prince Lirem and I stood before the Electorate on that issue. There was no real clear winner in that situation. I was absolved of any guilt, but they did have to agree with Lirem that telling the truth about Elfangor's deed, especially during wartime, would have been devastating to morale. So, in the end, Lirem and I both went on with our lives.)

There was a pause while Ax seemed to be thinking of something. (Tobias… When I returned to my planet, I recounted everything to my parents. After hearing both my stories and my brother's _hirac__ delest_, they expressed interest in meeting you. You are essentially all that is left of Elfangor.)

I didn't know what to say. I had lived the last three years as a loner.

(I don't know, Ax… I'll have to think about it. Why don't we just return to Earth first?)

(Agreed.)

* * *

A month or so later, we returned to Earth, or at least in our own solar system. We had dropped out of Z-space, and would fly to Earth the normal way for a few days. Ax and Menderash had immediately contacted the Andalite Electorate, telling them that Ax was taken hostage by The One (which we explained to the best of our ability), and our rescue. After they showed relief, we explained that there was a message to be delivered to them. They told us instead to give it to the Andalite ambassador to the United Nations, who would take it from there. 

We had just gone beyond a boundary defined by the Moon's orbit when some systems came online.

"Unidentified ship, this is Planetary Security. Identify yourselves."

Jake took command. "This is Jake Berenson, with two of my students in the counterterrorism classes I teach, Sergeant Santorelli, a U.S. Army Ranger, and Miss Jeanne Gerard, who works for the French government in the Deuxième Bureau. Also with me are two Animorphs, Marco Espinosa and Tobias Fangor. Accompanying us are Andalite Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill and his First Officer, Menderash-Postill-Fastill. This ship is my own, called the _Rachel_."

There was momentary silence, and I knew whoever was on the other end was in awe of the famous Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs and hero of the human race. As for the ship we swiped… well, something told me that they would let Jake keep it, since he never asked for anything and didn't try to get anything after the war the way Marco did.

"Mr. Berenson, what have you been doing, and where have you been? Everyone here has been going nuts since you and your friends and students took off!"

Marco smirked at how instantly the professional, tough tone was dropped. Jake mainly ignored this as he explained the situation.

"Prince Aximili was kidnapped by some alien cult or collective, including some Yeerks who survived and escaped the war a few years ago. Menderash escaped the battle, and requested my help. We also are carrying messages from another alien race whose space we were in, and they have also been fighting this collective for some time, from what they've told us. I carry a message for the United Nations from this alien race; likewise, Prince Aximili carries one for the Andalite Electorate, who have told him to deliver it instead to the Andalite ambassador to the UN."

There was silence, and the person on the other end said, "I will contact the United Nations. Please wait."

For the next several minutes, we waited in silence, wondering what would happen from there.

The person on the other end contacted us again. "Clearence granted. Go to La Guardia Airport, landing pad 5."

"Thank you," Jake said with some relief bleeding into his voice, and then shut it off.

We slowly made the descent into Earth's atmosphere, coming at a narrow angle as we flew north along the Eastern seaboard. Finally, we came to a land in La Guardia Airport.

Over the past few years, airports all around the country, if not the world, had added some landing pads for any alien spaceships coming in. Due to how relatively few ships there were that came or left from Earth, most airports had a maximum of five or ten landing pads.

There was considerable security as we landed. Between the factors of aliens in general and urgent messages for world leaders, it wasn't surprising.

I knew how Jake had been teaching various law enforcement people from all over Earth how to morph into combat terrorism against resident or visiting aliens. Here in New York City, things became more apparent why.

On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America had damaged the Pentagon and destroyed the twin towers at the World Trade Center. The main reason for this was widely believed and accepted to be that the radical psychopath behind the attacks wanted to try again after the first attacks had failed some years before. However, people eventually reasoned that the presence of aliens on Earth and relations with them were an additional reason behind the attacks. It had come to be seen as a rude awakening to how some people on Earth wouldn't accept aliens from other planets, even peaceful ones with good and honest intentions.

In addition to the thousands of people killed that day, it just so happened that an Andalite ambassador was on his way there to work out some transfer deals when it happened, and had even bought his wife and son along. While the ambassador himself only got a few scrapes and bruises, his son was hit by falling debris and nearly killed. Some amateur photographer had taken a shot of a hysterical Andalite mother clutching her unconscious and possibly dying child. Even though the kid miraculously survived and pulled through, the image was still very powerful not able to be forgotten. Andalites may not be able to make a lot of the same facial expressions as humans can, but it still radiated grief and pain. It helped gain a lot of sympathy for Andalites and their tourists to Earth.

In case you can't imagine that horrifying image, think of it this way. Ever see the gigantic mural by Picasso entitled _Guernica_ It's the size of a wall, entirely in black and white, and is one of the artist's most powerful works. In case you've never seen it before, look it up in a book or online. Now, look to the far left in the painting. You'll see a mother clutching her dead child, screaming with her head thrown back; it's so powerful, you can almost hear her screaming. Now, replace those human figures with Andalites, and you've more or less got an accurate idea of how horrible it was.

Anyway, since then, people had taken great pains to combat terrorism and crimes aimed at aliens, by both protecting said aliens and sniffing out the criminals responsible for the crimes. People like Jake now taught people how to morph and put the morphing power to good use for those reasons.

All that said and done, back to the present now.

As soon as we landed, Menderash, Ax and I all morphed human and did our best to look normal, since announcing our sudden arrival/return would undoubtedly have attracted unwanted attention. From there, we walked over to where two limos were waiting for us. The two Andalites and I went in one limo while the others went in the other one.

"I can only imagine how people are going to react to all this about the Kelbrid," I said, partly expressing what was on my mind and partly to make conversation.

"Which people?" Ax asked me. "Humans, or Andalites?"

"Now that you mention it, both."

"I didn't dare tell the Electorate that the territory we were in belonged to the Kelbrid," Menderash admitted among us.

"Yeah, well, I suppose they'll find out soon enough, won't they?"

The traffic was miraculously and mercifully quick that day, as far as NYC traffic goes. About halfway through, the three of us took turns demorphing and remorphing; at least no one could see us through the shaded windows.

We were about ten minutes away from the United Nations when the phone rang. After hesitating a moment, I answered it.

"Hello?"

Marco's voice hailed me. "Hey Tobias, is this sweet or what?"

I hung up.

Both Ax and Menderash looked at me curiously, but I just said, "Please, don't ask."

Finally, we arrived at our destination. We (or at least Jake and Marco) speedily went inside before anyone could stall us (or at least them) for whatever reason. Several minutes and a checkpoint or two later, we arrived right outside the main doors to that large chamber all the delegates from different countries meet in. The three of us demorphed, and Ax allowed me to perch on his shoulder.

(Prince Aximili?) came a voice in thought-speak from behind us.

We all turned around to see the Andalite ambassador whom I mentioned earlier, who had been an alien witness to Earth terrorism. His name was Camsorar-Nithlor-Ambadal. He was middle-aged, for an Andalite, and from what Ax had told me, he was overall a kind and decent Andalite who saved his tough side for meetings. It was he who proposed a counterterrorism force with morph-capable members after what he and his family lived through on 9/11, after some people had suggested the idea. Camsorar was also the Andalite who was responsible for the care of the _Escafil_ device which Jake used in his classes.

(Ambassador Camsorar, it is a pleasure to see you,) Ax said genially. (How are you doing?)

One of Camsorar's redeeming qualities was his sense of forgiveness; he did not begrudge the entire human race for what a handful of criminals and terrorists did on that day. He understood it as what we humans tended to call "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." With an Andalite smile, he said, (As usual, contending with everything from delegates of this planet's nations to dealing with this city's notorious traffic.)

Marco chuckled lightly behind us, and I admit that if I were in my human morph at that time, I would have allowed myself a small smile.

The smile disappeared, and Camsorar became more serious at that point. (What happened, Prince Aximili? Everyone on the home world was panicking when reports of your abduction came through, and nearly everyone here on Earth was acting the same way when your friends disappeared, presumably to rescue you.) Here he gestured towards us.

(In short, I was abducted by this collective called The One. It is comprised of belligerent Yeerks, some Skrit Na and even some Norshk pirates. They held me hostage in Kelbrid space.)

All four of Camsorar's eyes looked about ready to fall out of their sockets and roll across the floor.

(The _Kelbrid_?) he whispered, almost fearfully.

Ax went on a little quickly, hoping to pacify the ambassador. (There is nothing in the Andalite-Kelbrid treaty about _humans_ entering their territory. My First Officer, Menderash, even allowed himself to become a _nothlit_ trapped in a human body. They came to my aid; they even killed the Yeerk who killed the Animorph Rachel, and the Blade ship was destroyed. The One abandoned me and fled, and we escaped. However, our ship was damaged in the explosion. When we came to, we found that the Kelbrid had rescued us and fixed everything so we could return here to Earth. They even _thanked_ us for dealing such a blow to The One!)

I had no clue what or how Camsorar was feeling right at that moment, but he looked and Menderash and slowly asked, (If Menderash was trapped in a human body, then how is it he's an Andalite again?)

A little uneasily, Menderash answered, (I don't fully understand it myself, Ambassador, but they somehow had the technology to reverse the problem. It's as though I never became a _nothlit_ to begin with!)

By now, Camsorar looked so stunned that the slightest breeze probably would have made him topple over.

Turning back to Ax, he asked, (What did the Kelbrid look like?)

A little embarrassed, Ax replied, (We don't know. We never had the opportunity to see them. Then again… that matters rather little, since they forgave the trespass into their territory. They didn't want to argue as to whether or not an Andalite _nothlit_ trapped as a human still counted as an Andalite, and since I was held captive by The One against my will. From the way they treated us, you would have never even guessed how hostile they could be!)

An awkward silence followed this. (Yes indeed, Aximili,) Camsorar said, regaining his posture. (This is indeed fascinating.)

(I almost forgot,) Ax suddenly blurted, retrieving the disc. (This is a message from the Kelbrid for the Electorate. I contacted them, but they told me to give it to you instead.)

(I know,) Camsorar replied with a small smile as he accepted the disc, (since they contacted me about it only a day or so ago.)

Just then, the doors opened, and the guards led us inside.

The murmuring subsided as all the different delegates focused on us.

I stayed off to the side with Ax as Jake explained everything that had happened, from planning their attempt to rescue Ax to our rescue by the Kelbrid. (Here, Comsorar briefly explained about the Andalites' treaty with them.) From what could be gathered, The One, whatever _it_ was, was not a threat which could be easily ignored.

The delegates were now all understandably nervous about a new alien threat, but knew better than to simply panic. Once that was done, Jake turned to the small disc. "I don't know how to activate this…"

And as if on cue, the disc glowed and projected a hologram that nearly touched the ceiling. A hooded figure was shown, but we could not guess how it appeared underneath the hood.

In what seemed like their own version of thought-speech, it was projected to all occupants in the room, bypassing language barriers.

_GREETINGS, PEOPLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF EARTH.__ I AM THE LEADER OF THE KELBRID PEOPLE._

_AS YOU __MAY__ HAVE HEARD BY __NOW__, WE KELBRID HAVE HAD A LONG-STANDING SIMPLE PROVISO WITH THE ANDALITES. THEY DO NOT ENTER OUR SPACE, WE DO NOT ENTER THEIRS. HOWEVER, WE __ARE__ CONSIDERING DOING AWAY WITH THAT TRUCE, NOT __JUST__ BECAUSE IT WAS INVOKED AFTER THE YEERKS STARTED THEIR WAY, BUT BECAUSE WE __ALL__MAY__ HAVE TO FIGHT TOGETHER TO DEFEAT THIS BEING WHO CALLS HIMSELF "THE __ONE__."_

_THE __ONE__ IS TRULY __ONE__ OF THE MOST DANGEROUS BEINGS IN THE KNOWN GALAXY. IT SEEMS TO BE __ABLE__ TO CHANGE SHAPES __AND__ MORPH MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN EVEN THOSE WHO POSSESS THE POWER TO MORPH BY WAY OF ANDALITE TECHNOLOGY. IT CAN ALSO POSSESS BEINGS MORE EFFICIENTLY THAN ANY YEERKS CAN._

_THE __ONE__HAS__ STARTED SOMETHING OF A CULT, ROUNDING UP EVIL YEERKS STILL BITTER OVER THEIR DEFEAT IN THE YEERK WAR, PLENTY OF SKRIT NA, __AND__ EVEN SOME PIRATES BELONGING TO A __RACE__ KNOWN AS THE NORSHK. THERE __MAY__ BE GOOD ODDS THAT THE __ONE__HAS__ HIS SIGHTS SET ON EARTH, EVEN IF YOUR PLANET IS BEYOND ITS REACH AT THE MOMENT. EVEN IF THE KELBRID __AND__ SOME OTHER ALIEN RACES __ARE__ THE __ONE__'S CURRENT TARGETS, THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL STOP WITH US __AND__ SIMPLY LEAVE OTHER PLANETS __AND__ PEOPLES ALONE. IF LEFT UNCHECKED, A SINGLE PROBLEM CAN BECOME EVERYONE'S PROBLEM._

_JAKE BERENSON, __AND__ THE REST OF THE CREW WHO SERVED ON BOARD THE SHIP HE CALLED THE _RACHEL_, MANAGED TO DEAL A SEVERE BLOW TO THE __ONE__, BUYING US SOME TIME. HOWEVER, MORE ACTION MUST BE PLANNED._

_IF THE PEOPLE OF EARTH WISH TO ASSIST US IN DEFEATING THIS GREAT EVIL WHICH THREATENS __ALL__, WE WILL WELCOME ANY HELP. IF THEY WISH TO STAY OUT OF THIS CONFLICT, WE WILL ACCEPT THAT, __AND__ WE WILL NOT PRESSURE OR COERCE THEM INTO DOING SO._

_WHEN THIS MESSAGE IS FINISHED, TWO SMALL BUTTONS WILL APPEAR ON THIS DISC. THE GREEN BUTTON WILL BE A CONFIRMATION OF AT LEAST CHOOSING TO MEET WITH US, __AND__ WORKING FROM THERE. THE RED BUTTON WILL BE A REFUSAL BE __GET__ INVOLVED IN THIS CONFLICT._

_THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME __AND__ PATIENCE._

And with that, the message ended.

All the delegates murmured worriedly. What were they going to do?

In the end, the delegates decided to wait a few days, during which they would meet with their own governments and decide what to do. Likewise, Camsorar went off to contact the Andalite Electorate.

My human friends, on the other hand, went to face the governments they worked for. They had done plenty of things to answer to.

* * *

All five of us – Jake, Marco, Jeanne, Santorelli, and myself – were questioned later that day and debriefed by the military, and were all essentially forbidden to mention any details of our rescue. The story was this: We heard that Prince Aximili was in trouble, we went off to rescue him, we succeeded in doing so, got help from a native alien species in the area, and returned. 

However, something told me that the government didn't want me, Tobias, the Missing Animorph, to suddenly get loose again beyond where anyone would find him… and for more than just security reasons. In the end, I had to promise them that I would stay with Cassie and Toby Hamee.

Finally, they let us go, and I went off to find my Andalite uncle.

* * *

As I later found out, Ax and Menderash were also told off, but to a lesser extent. Ax had gone against Andalite protocol by boarding himself once he discovered the hairs to be that of the Yeerk who killed Rachel in polar bear morph, and Menderash for also playing his part in the unauthorized rescue. I think Ax's Andalite superiors may have disliked it a little that he should go off to "avenge" the death of a non-Andalite alien. Andalite superiority and all that, I guess. 

I demorphed and walked down the hall of the government building to the room where Ax and Menderash were communicating to the Andalite home world. I got looks of admiration and awe as I walked down, from seasoned war veterans all the way down to new recruits. I tried to ignore them without looking too acerbic.

The door to the room opened just as I was a few feet away from it. Menderash trotted out, but then stopped briefly to give me a curt bow. (It was an honor to fight alongside you, Tobias.)

"Likewise, Menderash," I replied evenly. "Take care of yourself."

Menderash acknowledged it, and then left, shrugging off the occasional look some people gave him. I guess lots of people were more used to seeing Andalites on TV or in pictures than in person.

Ax stayed behind, looking at me with his passive, emotionless face. He said to me in private thought-speech, (I'm still here because I am about to contact my parents, in a separate message just for them. Do you wish to talk to them?)

I was speechless. I honestly didn't know what to say, either. I had grown up bereft of any real family, and now I was being offered to the opportunity to talk to my alien grandparents. (Of course, I didn't consider them less important simply because they were of another alien species.)

I demorphed back into a hawk and spoke to Ax in private thought-speech, not wanting the people around me to hear. (If it's not a problem, Ax, please tell them that I would like to meet them, on a better occasion.)

He nodded (a human gesture he had obviously picked up from us), and replied, (As you wish, Tobias.)

I bade him farewell, and flew out an open window.

* * *

Instead of all of us going back to California, we were able to get some rooms in New York City, where our clothes were shipped to us. We were able to keep it low-key as not to announce our presence to tons of people who wanted to welcome us back (and a few who wanted to give us hell for whatever warped reasons they had). Jake and Marco shared a room, I got paired up with Santorelli, Jeanne got a room all to herself… and, surprisingly, Ax and Menderash were able to make do in a nice, big hotel room. At least we picked a hotel close to Central Park, should one or both of them want to go out and graze. 

Here, I was back among human civilization again… oh great, now I was brooding to myself again.

Actually, I had done plenty of brooding over the past three years: Whether or not I should live the rest of my life as a hawk or a human, how I missed Rachel, etc. However, I knew what was going on with the other Animorphs all the time, since I could see newspapers from far away and see what was going on with them.

I spent a lot of time hanging out with my namesake, Toby Hamee, the Hork-Bajir seer. Often, I felt like she was the only one I could talk to. Even with the rest of her fellow Hork-Bajir living their simple lives in Yellowstone, maybe she felt a bit like an outsider because of her higher intelligence… in fact, probably the same way her ancestor Dak Hamee felt all those years ago back on the Hork-Bajir home world.

I kept thinking to myself… did I want to rejoin the human race? Back then, Rachel seemed like the only reason I would have given up being a bird forever. I preferred an overall good life as a hawk than the fairly miserable life I had had as a human.

Then again… there was now the new Kelbrid doohickey which could undo "_nothlit_-ism," as Marco had called it. That was worth considering. Just like after I got the morphing power but before I first became trapped as a bird… I would be mainly human, and become a bird again if I chose. Maybe if I ever encountered the Kelbrid again, I could ask them.

A couple of days later, Ax asked if I wanted to go for a walk in Central Park with him. (It has only recently occurred to me that I have not been able to enjoy this planet's natural beauty while walking in the open, especially if compared to the few years I fought alongside you when I had to hide my true form. Besides, with all the Andalite tourists these days, I would not stick out.)

And so, after Marco spared me some clothes, I was fit to walk out in the park.

Hardly anyone recognized me as Tobias the Animorph, since I was now obviously older and was rarely seen in human form. Hardly anyone recognized Ax either, probably because all Andalites looked more or less the same to them.

"I've been considering your offer for me to meet your parents," I said quietly. "I suppose I'm a little jumpy and afraid of meeting them. I honestly just don't know what to say to them."

(They want to hear of your exploits. More importantly, they just want to get to know you.)

"Yeah, I guess I just don't know what to expect. Don't get me wrong, Ax, it's not because they're a different species from me…"

(I know, Tobias. I know.)

"So… yes, I guess I do want to meet them."

* * *

About a week after we had returned, we were back in the main chamber. Jake and my other human friends essentially got off with a slap on the wrist each; while they had done plenty wrong, plenty of good had also come out of it. Jake would be doing a lot more work in the near future to compensate for all he had missed, as did Santorelli and Jeanne. However, it seemed that they let him keep the _Rachel_. I think they all agreed that maybe he would need it, just in case some other conflict started up in the near future. 

It was agreed that humans would at least meet with the Kelbrid to know what was going on; they would work everything out from there. So, a transmission was sent back through Z-space from the device Jake had delivered from the Kelbrid. In return, a display popped up, showing a good place to meet on Earth which was far from any real places that could be in danger: The American desert.

It also turned out that the Andalites would also be meeting with the Kelbrid there. The fact that these were leftover evil Yeerks who survived the war was a primary reason; I guess they wanted to finish the job, and in all honesty, I couldn't blame them. The fact that the Kelbrid wanted to do away with the proviso was another thing; plenty of Andalites now expressed genuine interested in seeing what these Kelbrid even looked like.

Finally, it was time for us to return home. Jake, Marco, Santorelli, Jeanne and myself had seen off Ax and Menderash as they departed for the Andalite home world on a departing shuttle, and we returned home on a private jet which Marco had managed to acquire.

While Marco managed to absorb most of the attention, it did allow the rest of us to get away and avoid the same attention which we didn't want.

I perched on Jake's shoulder as his parents came up to us. After all they had been through, they seemed to be doing well. However, what his mother said next nearly made me fall off laughing.

"Jake, how could you steal spaceship to rescue your alien friend and not even tell us?"

I had to admit, that _was_ pretty funny. I mean, how often would you hear a human mother tell that to her son?

"Yeah, well… sorry," Jake said, looking embarrassed.

Jake was lucky that Marco wasn't here: He would have been laughing his butt off.

They talked a little more, until I excused myself and departed.

The last thing I heard with my hawk hearing was Jake telling his parents something quietly. "By the way… Tom says hi."

I had no idea what that meant, but I figured I wasn't supposed to, either.

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: This is a transitional chapter, I admit, but a necessary one. (Not to mention LONG.)

Next part is where we finally meet my version of the Kelbrids, and see what they look like… _–Quillian_


	5. CHAPTER 5

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

_This chapter is dedicated to **Bridget3**, whose ongoing story "The Kelbrid Chronicles" is entertaining, and holds much potential._

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

**Jake**

To say that everyone on Earth was excited and/or nervous was a supreme understatement.

Even though the United Nations had released a censored version of the message from the Kelbrid which I had delivered, everyone was still all excited about this new alien race (former rivals of the mighty Andalites themselves, no less!), and it seemed like the rumor mill wouldn't stop turning. People were running bets on things from what they would look like to what they would want to do with the human race.

Me, Marco, Santorelli, Jeanne and even Tobias had gotten a slap on the wrist for running off like that, but were just as quickly let off the hook for doing our part in rescuing the great Prince Aximili and temporarily defeating some terrible new foe. I think it was because we (or at least Marco and I) were essentially heroes, and they we afraid that something terrible would happen if they crossed us. Ax and Menderash more or less went through the same thing with the Electorate. Overall, it went like this for all of us: "Where have you been? Are you all right? You shouldn't have done that. Don't do that again. Now why don't you go back to whatever you were doing before?"

Marco put some hype on it with some interview on the Letterman Show, which got even worse for me when he slipped about my battle with Alam 606 in her polar bear morph. After that, all the talk show hosts practically begged and groveled before me to speak about my battle with the Yeerk who killed my cousin. Obviously, the idea of me avenging my late cousin had much appeal; the scary part was, I would have expected it more from honor-bound Andalites than my own fellow humans. It took about a week before I could look at Marco again without wanting to morph into a tiger and give him hell for what he said.

My parents and relatives actually seemed rather happy that Rachel's killer was now dead, but then again, I guess I couldn't blame them. Heck, even _I_ wanted that blasted Yeerk dead! With her (as in Alam 606) and the Blade ship gone, everyone seemed slightly happier because of that.

Meanwhile, on the Andalite home world, they celebrated the return of their beloved Prince Aximili, and Menderash was also enjoying how he was no longer a _nothlit_. The fact that the Kelbrid had found a way to reverse the _nothlit_ thing had caused quite a stir among Andalites. Personally, I think it hit their pride, since the Kelbrid had found a solution to the Andalites' problem.

Tobias hung around with Cassie or Toby. I came by to talk with him from to time, and hopefully put some things behind us. However, I could see that Tobias had a sort of limp to him ever since we returned from rescuing Ax. Whatever it was, I hoped it would get better, and soon.

It took about a month for the Kelbrid to come, but eventually, they came.

They had chosen a spare desert area in Nevada, just out of sight from Las Vegas. A landing zone was set up, and was about the size of a baseball field in a major league stadium. Adjoining it was a complex made of portable buildings, were the conferences with these Kelbrid would take place. The American military, along with military forces from other countries, were keeping security tight, and cameras from the press had to be kept at a distance. It felt like Visser One's trial in The Hague two years before.

For now, we stood in the shade of tents built up, waiting for the Kelbrid to come.

"Is it me, or does this look suspiciously familiar from that _Mars Attacks!_ movie?" Marco whispered in my ear. "The aliens act nice, give coordinates to land here in the American desert, everyone waits for them…"

As much as I wanted to swat Marco at that moment, I had to admit, the resemblance to the scene from that movie did seem uncanny.

When I didn't respond, Marco shrugged and went off somewhere.

Nearby, Toby Hamee and a few other Hork-Bajir were talking amongst themselves, with Tobias perched on his namesake's shoulder. Ax and Cassie spoke amongst themselves in another area, while her fiancé, Ronnie Chambers, met with the Andalite delegates who had come here, including Menderash himself. In fact, I could also make out and recognize Prince Galuit, whom we had met during our strange adventure on Leera.

Looking closer, I could see Alloran-Semitur-Corrass among them.

Even to this day, I still had some trouble breaking the habit of associating that face with Visser Three/One. Of course, it's not like it was Alloran's fault. I wondered how well he had adjusted to the Andalite home world after his years-long absence as the host for one of the worst Yeerks ever. From what I could gather, he was still pretty unpopular among Andalites for his actions on the Hork-Bajir world all those years ago, even before he became a slave to the Yeerks. The last I had seen of him was at Visser One's trial, and all I knew was that he had a wife and two children, both of whom were adults now, and he was trying to make up for lost time.

All things considered, I felt really sorry for the guy, and hoped I never had to go through anything like that.

He must have noticed me glance at him, because he nodded to me before turning his attention elsewhere.

A few moments later, everyone was stirring, and on the large screens set up around the area, images appeared. A ship had just dropped out of Z-space and came to a slow cruise in Earth's orbit.

We were watching all of this with the help of a new breed of satellites which had been launched in the past few years. Marco's dad had helped worked on designing some of the systems, and with the input of countless other people working on the same project, the output was a satellite which could also act as a camera, observing anything that came to or left from Earth. The quality of what we were seeing was amazing.

The ship looked dark at first, but as the sun's rays bounced off of it, I could see that it was made of a shiny, sleek metal. In fact, looking closer, it almost looked as though the surface of the ship itself was made of overlapping metal feathers, like on a bird's wings.

The shape of the ship itself looked like a giant F-117 stealth fighter with its face more curved around the edges, but with the wide wings of a B-2 stealth bomber. Behind it was what looked like a long stinger or tail, making the ship look like a giant arrow, or maybe a manta ray.

Even my description of it seemed to be woefully inaccurate, because I couldn't describe how amazing it was, with its shape that gave off a sense of speed or flowing movement. Everyone else was excited as well.

The satellite's camera showed the ship from an angle overhead, but we could just make out a shaft of light starting to come out from the bottom of it. We guessed it was a hanger opening.

Four stubby little fighters, all with forward-swept wings, flanked a somewhat bigger ship, which we guessed was the shuttle. It had two long, curved wings swept backwards, looking like scimitar blades. The central wing looked like a tall dorsal fin, though not as big or as long as the two other wings. Like the bigger ship it came from, it had a gray, feathered appearance to it.

The five smaller ships descended through Earth's atmosphere, and within minutes, we could see them from where we stood.

Everyone seemed to be holding their breath and the four fighters formed a square around the shuttle. They hovered in mid-air, more than a hundred feet above the ground.

Just then, parts of the bottom of the shuttle opened up, and some things flew out of them. With the help of cameras, we could see what they were.

They looked like angels at first, but then things became clearer. They looked like a cross between humans and birds: They stood on two legs, and had two arms ending in talon-like hands, but their bodies were covered in feathers which were various shades of grey. Their heads were definitely bird-like, and they wore helmets which seemed to have plumes on them (kind of like some helmets worn by ancient Greek and Roman soldiers), but were later realized to be feathers grown on the head. Each Kelbrid warrior was as tall as a Hork-Bajir, and there was also a slight resemblance with the basic body structure, such as the legs being bent back (as opposed to forward, like on humans). They also wore armor which first looked like gold, but had a strange orange-red glint to it. Even as they flew gracefully, they each carried a slender staff as tall as they were, with the top ending in a scythe much like an Andalite's tail blade.

Ten of these Kelbrid warriors were flying gracefully around the ship as it slowly descended. As it descended, all three wings folded back, kind of like those Imperial shuttles you see in the _Star Wars_ movies. After it landed, the flying Kelbrid warriors (whom I guessed were bodyguards), touched down in front of the ship, in two rows of five. Each stood at attention like statues, kind of like those guards you see at Buckingham Palace who don't move, no matter what. Each had their "scythe-staffs" in their right hands, each as stiff and straight as they were. All ten stood facing in our direction as the shuttle went through the final landing procedure.

With a hiss that could be heard from we were in the silence, the front of the shuttle opened like a kind of mouth. The Kelbrid guards all turned to face each other now as the shuttle's passengers exited and came toward us.

There were only three of them. The Kelbrid in the lead was wrapped in a purple shawl and robes (which also shielded his head and most of his face from the desert sun), and judging by how he was slightly hunched over and had feathers that looked duller and paler compared to those of the warriors, this Kelbrid may have been relatively old by whatever standards they had. In almost sort of a V-formation, there were two other Kelbrid behind him, both of which looked younger and sturdier. On the lead Kelbid's rear left was one dressed in a sort of blue-green tunic, carrying what looked like a sort of alien briefcase. On the rear right was another Kelbrid whose function or purpose I could only guess at; he wore armor that seemed light, compared to the armor of the still-standing ten Kelbrid guards, which looked to be sown together like the armor of an ancient _samurai_ warrior, but also a bit like a Roman legionnaire's armor, and carried a scythe in one of his claw-like hands.

(Ah, so _that's_ what they look like,) Ax muttered quietly in thought-speech.

The trio of Kelbrid made their way towards us, looking politely glad to meet us (or at least that was what I thought, if I were to be the judge of alien emotions). If they showed any sign of being uncomfortable under the desert heat… but then again, if they had problems with the desert heat, then they wouldn't have asked to land here in order for us to meet them, right?

Finally, they stopped about five feet in front of us. (By "us," I mean myself, Ax, and everyone who accompanied me in rescuing Ax; it seemed right, since we sort of initiated contact with the Kelbrid.) The Kelbrid actually seemed to make sort of a smile with his beak, and as he talked, I realized that Kelbrid beaks were somewhat flexible (although not as much as human lips), and they had some ridges inside their beaks which acted as teeth.

In rough English, the lead Kelbrid spoke aloud. "Greetings, humans of Earth; may your sun strengthen and nurture yourselves and the rest of your beautiful planet. To the Andalites: May your own people continue to flourish. We come here today in peace, to discuss how to best defend all against The One and all those who are in league with him. We do not commit to an alliance, but to an agreement, for what is best in the interests of all. May we all succeed in this combat, so all our races can continue to live in peace."

There was interested murmuring from all those present. Just then, a brief Kelbrid dialogue took place, which Ax translated for us as they spoke.

The ambassador summoned those who accompanied him. "_Karmaad_ Vegren?"

"Yes, Ambassador Saventi?" the warrior Kelbrid responded, standing at attention.

"Go back to our warriors; tell them to keep a perimeter around our ships until I get back. After that, please join myself and High Scribe Skiba in the buildings our hosts have constructed for our talks and negotiations."

"Yes, Ambassador," the Kelbrid warrior said, bowing slightly and striding back over to where the Kelbrid guards still stood diligently at attention. Vegren shouted some orders in Kelbrid, and the ten other Kelbrid warriors broke up their formations and did something else instead. Five of the warriors walked around the transport ship at equal intervals, while the other five warriors flew overheard, being on the lookout for anything that might cause some suspicion.

I couldn't help but marvel at how the Kelbrid could coil up their legs and jump so high in the air, and then stay aloft and continue to fly so effortlessly. However, I suspected that we would learn more about these Kelbrid later on as more and more developments occurred.

Ax rejoined the other important and high-ranking Andalites, who then all followed us humans and the few Kelbrid (Vegren had rejoined the ambassador and the scribe) into the buildings where the talks and negotiations would take place (which were also cool and air-conditioned, thankfully; it may not have been so hot out here in the desert today, but it was still rather hot nonetheless).

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: Ta-da! My version of the Kelbrid. I noticed that there never seemed to be any sort of sentient bird-like races in the _Animorphs_ universe, so, I decided to fix that. :-) (So, what do you guys think of them so far?)

Note about the Kelbrid as they appear: Also, I imagine a Kelbrid _karmaad_ (kar-MAHD) to be about equal in rank to an Andalite prince, a Yeerk sub-visser or a human colonel. For those of you who are wondering about the similarities in style between present-day Kelbrid and the ancient Romans: An explanation is indeed forthcoming, although the answer may not be the one you might at first suspect…

Next chapter is where the talks begin, and we finally see things again from the POV of Ax, my favorite character… _–Quillian_

* * *

**_EXTRA FOR THE READERS!_**

When it comes to fanfiction, one thing I take very seriously is what it is I'm writing fanfiction about. This typically includes the style of the author whose work I'm writing fanfiction for (my _Harry Potter_ work would be a good example, I hope). So, as I write what I have come to call my "Post-Animorphs" saga, I will try to adopt the style KAA set for the books, as in shifting POV's and even some of the book titles.

Here are some possible normal titles for future stories in my series:

The Pact; The Clone; The Hypocrisy; The Abomination; The Atrocity; The Plan; The Spy; The Quest; The War; The Defense; The Survivor; The Revolution; The Rebellion; The Uprising; The Traitor; The Nemesis; The Challenge; The Betrayal; The One… heck, I may even use "The Conspiracy," even though that has been used for the title of the 31st book in the series.

Here are some possible titles for future Chronicles or back stories in my series:

The Leeran Chronicles; The Taxxon Chronicles; The Yeerk Chronicles; The Kelbrid Chronicles; Nothlit. (Perhaps the last one will be poor Arbron's story?)

I know that plenty of people weren't so happy with KAA for how she ended the series (and still aren't). Then again… One observation I have made about the _Animorphs_ series is this: Unlike _Star Wars_ or _Star Trek_ where we see humans interacting with other species in whatever way in an age of space travel, _Animorphs_ takes place in a time which is the dawn of such an age. Those other classic sci-fi sagas are ages of correspondence; this saga was one where the contact first had to be made before such correspondence could take place. After all, the last book in the series was "The Beginning" of the future. Sorry if it sounds like I'm overly defending KAA, but I'm just trying to see things from her perspective. After all, she told the story she wanted to tell.

Okay, that's enough for me now. Time to start writing the next chapter of this story…

* * *


	6. CHAPTER 6

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Finally, we get to see something from the POV of my favorite major character: Ax! I have all the books narrated by him, and of them all, I think _The Decision_ is my favorite one.

**IMPORTANT NOTE:** There is a slightly altered reference to _The Lord of the Rings_ and J.R.R. Tolkien in this chapter… can you find it?

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to **walkatdog**, for being such a darn loyal and overall great reviewer! Also, be sure to check out his cool story, "An Unorthodox History"!

* * *

CHAPTER 6

**Aximili**

Finally, I saw what these Kelbrid looked like. I felt the need to go up and thank them once again for helping me and my friends, but I knew that now was not the time nor the place, so I would wait for later to do that.

I stood alongside my fellow Andalite officers, in an area near where ambassadors from different Earth countries sat. Jake and the other former Animorphs were in another small section of their own, which also included the Hork-Bajir seer, Toby Hamee (the namesake for my _shorm_, in case you haven't already guessed). Toby was sitting there on behalf of the Hork-Bajir colony on Earth (after the war, the American government had allowed her and the other free Hork-Bajir to settle in Yellowstone National Park).

After the incident with the _Intrepid_, and how I essentially violated some sort of unwritten protocol by leading the boarding party instead of staying on the bridge, I had been transferred to being in charge of fighter pilots. Actually, this was something of a blessing in disguise, since I had never really wanted to be the captain of a Dome ship, anyway; but when you are in the Andalite military and they assign you a position, you don't refuse it.

Actually, I had still wanted to be a fighter pilot, even after the Andalite defeat at Earth which took the life of my brother Elfangor and so many other noble warriors. I guess, in some sort of way, I still wanted to be a fighter pilot and prove myself to Elfangor, even if he was no longer alive to witness it for himself.

Of course, Elfangor's death had a serious impact on my family. On the surface, my parents went through the motions and acted as they should in Andalite society. Deep down, however, they were in such a deep state of mourning that they spent most of their time outside their jobs grieving for my brother and hoping that I wouldn't suffer the same fate as this far-off planet named Earth, which I was currently marooned on.

Personally, I think Earth only may have served as an unpleasant reminder of Elfangor's death and my own situation. As one such example, my mother, who was a scientist specializing in xenobiology, would happily study the unique life on any other planet except for Earth. (This in itself seemed a little out of place, since practically every single Andalite xenobiologist at that time would have pranced with happiness at the opportunity to study Earth's seemingly endless supply of life forms… although, come to think of it, plenty of them still do.) In fact, my parents actually turned down the opportunity to come visit me on Earth, hoping instead for me to come back home and be reunited with them on the home world.

The conversation I had with my parents when I first returned to my planet is one which I will probably never forget…

* * *

_The portal opened, and I stepped off the transport ship and walked down the ramp. The home world which I had not seen for more than three years was beckoning me to return and be at home and at peace. The sun glowed overhead in the red and gold sky, and beyond the boundaries of the spaceport, large fields of colorful grasses stretched beyond the horizon. It seemed so familiar and yet so alien, both at the same time. Perhaps my duration on Earth affected more than I had previously thought it would._

_A big crowd of Andalite citizens had gathered to welcome home their friends and family members. However, as I passed, I could hear much of their not-so-discrete thought-speech._

_(It's Aximili… Elfangor's brother…)_

_(The one who survived on that planet Earth for years?)_

_(He fought alongside a small resistance of humans that encountered him…)_

_(I heard he has acquired countless strange and powerful Earth creatures…)_

_(My cousin is in the military… he says Aximili single-handedly helped is in our victory at Leera!)_

_I had dreamed of being a hero for so long… I just never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that I would become one the way I did. But, as the human saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for."_

_I waited for the cargo to be unloaded, and once it was, I maneuvered my way through with an Andalite storage box filled with my few possessions which I had acquired during my time on Earth: My _World Almanac_, my picture of a cinnabon, my television set (what little use it would be here on the home world!), and various human computer devices which I had bought._

_I took a transport to the general area where my scoop was, and made my way from there. I happily galloped back across the open fields to my family's scoop, which for the most part looked just as how I remembered it._

_My parents were grazing outside when my father spotted me coming with one of his stalk eyes. (Aximili-kala?)_

_(Yes, Father. It is your son, Aximili.) After carefully setting the storage container aside, I trotted up to them. I greeted both my parents as I should have, and after which, we talked in more relaxed tones. I told them how, yes, I helped in our victory at Leera, and how I helped with the destruction of the Yeerk Empire at Earth. (Part of me didn't want to consider the events at Earth to be an Andalite victory, because of how close they came to putting it under "Quarantine.")_

_I think my parents were just as proud of me as they were of Elfangor (and even then, parents of any species shouldn't have to play favorites with their offspring), because of how bravely and valiantly I fought to help save not just one, but _two_ alien races, possibly more. By the time I had finished telling them of my greater accomplishments, they praised me with their accolades on how I had done my duty and had made them proud._

_(Aximili,) my father said in a more serious tone, (Not long after the victory at Earth, a record of Elfangor's _hirac delest _found__ its way into my workplace. It talked about many unusual things…)_

_(Such as his human son?) I said without thinking._

_Both of them flinched a little, and then my father continued. (Yes, but how did you know…?)_

_(Tobias… Elfangor's son… he found a last will and testament that was placed in the care of a human lawyer. I would suppose that the Ellimist allowed it.)_

_(You _met _the Ellimist?) my mother asked with something akin to awe in her voice._

_(On occasion, yes.__ Why, how do you know of him?)_

_(You may want to hear this for yourself,) my father said, presenting me with the disc which held my brother's final statement._

_I listened to it, shocked and entranced. Hours later, when it was all done, I could stand there, stunned as I looked at the record of my brother's _hirac delest_. So many things Elfangor did not tell me… then again, part of me couldn't blame him for omitting certain details of his adventures._

_(Well, that certainly explains a lot of things,) I finally said, albeit lamely, and for a better choice of words._

_(I may not approve of all the actions Elfangor made, even though I could understand them… I realize that he had not always served the military flawlessly, but more good came out of it than harm… it's just a lot to accept,) my father said._

_(I understand what it is you are trying to say,) I said carefully. (Speaking of Elfangor's journeys… why didn't you come to Earth so you could see me and Tobias? I'm sure both of you would have had plenty of influence to arrange such a trip.)_

_Both my parents acted strangely, as though trying to come up with some sort of excuse. When none was forthcoming, I tried to change the subject._

_(So, Mother… how are your xeno-biology studies coming along?)_

_(Oh, perfectly fine, Aximili.__ Same as always.)_

_(I was talking with other people, since I am now liaison with the people of Earth. They said they were looking forward to learning about Earth's countless variety of creatures,) I said conversationally. (Will you be joining them?)_

_(Oh no, Aximili, there are already plenty of other xeno-biologists looking forward to that. I am more interested in Leera; someone has to still keep studying the other planets in the galaxy, after all,) she said in a not-very-convincing way._

_Wait a minute. "Plenty of other xeno-biologists"? That didn't sound right at all. I had met my mother's xeno-biologist friends on occasion, and some of them even swore that they would even part with their stalks just to spend so much as a week on such a planet with such biological diversity._

_(Mother, I –)_

_(FOR ELLIMIST'S SAKE, AXIMILI!) Father yelled suddenly, causing both my mother and I to jump a clear meter off the ground. (MAYBE WE DO NOT WANT TO __HEAR__ ANYMORE ABOUT THAT CURSED PLANET!)_

_After a moment of shocked silence, I quietly said, (I was only going to ask Mother about her studies on Leeran biology.)_

_In an instant, my father went from being pumped-up and primed for an argument to looking downright embarrassed._

_I felt a small headache coming on, and then I excused myself. (I need to go for a walk… before I say something I might regret later on.)_

* * *

The meaning was clear to me: My parents were almost _afraid _of going to Earth, lest they be reminded of Elfangor's death. 

Additionally, they would have loved to meet their only grandchild, but they were almost afraid that Elfangor's running-away and settling down to start a human family could be seen as dishonorable and shameful. They had their own unique ideals, but were afraid of suffering those from everyone else in Andalite society.

Later, when I had returned to my family's scoop, unspoken apologies and forgiveness were exchanged. From there, my family did its best to continue on peacefully.

Presently, as the human ambassadors continued to exchange questions and answers with the Kelbrid Ambassador Saventi, my mind thought back to the hearing which took place a few days after my return, which nearly resulted in my professional suicide…

* * *

_My parents and I took a transport to the War Council building, where I would tell of certain exploits on Earth… especially those that pertained to other Andalites._

_I have seen various examples of human architecture, including those places designed for judicial affairs, and this place reminded of hardly any such examples. In fact, with its rounded walls, domed roof and hole in the center which allowed sunlight and rain to come through, it reminded me of the famous human structure known as the Pantheon._

_Both the prosecutor and myself stood in a patch of the grassy floor, which when combined with the sunlight streaming in from overheard, made the scene look almost symbolic, in a way. The whole purpose of this session was just to get some facts straightened out._

_The session started, and I answered the basic question of who I was, and what I had done. In order to make things easier, I volunteered to show my memories. I showed the memory of how I survived the destruction of the Dome ship, and how I first met those humans who had been given the power to morph by my brother Elfangor._

_My memory then jumped to when I had unintentionally enabled the work of Marco's father to make the leap to using z-space technology. I showed how I programmed the satellite dish to contact the Andalite home world… how I told Head of Council Lirem of the situation on Earth, and how he told me to take the blame for it… how the Yeerk named Eslin 359 confronted me with his offer to do away with Visser Three for good… how the assassination attempt failed and I talked briefly with a Yeerk-less Alloran… how I explained the concept of _Seerow's Kindess_ to the Animorphs… how I contacted the home world one last time before I disabled it for good…_

_(ENOUGH!) Lirem shouted, terminating the memory dump. He was obviously furious._

_(You didn't tell me that these human "friends" of yours had to _morph _into aquatic creatures in order to find and rescue you from the Dome under the ocean,) he said almost accusingly._

_(I gave a basic report without details, as I should have,) I said calmly in my defense. (And I obeyed your instructions to take the blame for breaking the law of _Seerow's Kindness_, lest I blacken Elfangor's reputation.)_

_Lirem__ spluttered and looked about ready to shout something else, but he knew better than to do so in front of his fellow members of the War Council._

_Here the Council called for a break in order to decide this conflict between Lirem and myself, before things really got out of hand. When they returned several minutes later, their decision was that I was absolved of any guilt for breaking the law. Elfangor had indeed given these five young humans the power to morph, and even though I had pushed human science ahead without even realizing it at the time, I did my duty as an Andalite_ aristh _and destroyed the technology afterwards. As for Lirem, since he was only trying to protect Elfangor's reputation in order to keep up Andalite morale. In the end, it was basically a compromise, and both Lirem and myself were absolved of any true guilt._

_From there, I showed my memory of my bizarre adventure on Leera. What had started as a mission to acquire a human government official's __DNA__ by means of a blood-sucking creature resulted in winding up in z-space, only to get transferred to Leera from there. I showed them of Samilin's betrayal, and how the Animorphs and I fought our way towards our goal, even as we vanished, one by one._

_After that was finished, each member of the Council had a mix of expressions on their faces: Shock, anger, awe…_

_(After these events, we investigated into Samilin's actions,) Lirem said. (Owing to the lack of any sort of portable Kandrona on the ship, we can only conclude that Samilin… _betrayed _the People of his own accord.)_

_It must have really hurt, to have to say that. Then again, it was not as though I could blame Lirem for that…_

_(You and these Animorphs unwittingly made a scientific breakthrough that day,) Lirem continued. (Did you ever have that sort of problem since then, with residual flux fields?)_

_(No, sir. That was the only occasion where such a thing happened.)_

_(Ever since then, our scientists have been trying to figure out what only caused such an event to happen on that particular occasion. You say you and the others morphed these blood-sucking insects, these mosquitoes, in order to draw the blood of an injured government official and use that to morph?)_

_(Yes, sir. That was the plan.)_

_(I will allow Professor Sujak to explain his theory.)_

_A scholarly-looking male Andalite stepped forward. (As we all know, most of Prince Aximili's mass was in z-space while he was in morph, just as the morphing technology should work. However, he applied some strain to his power to morph as he was focusing on collecting the human's blood for that purpose, since one with the morphing technology can only acquire morphs in his or her true base form. That pushed the limits of his power to morph, causing the residual flux field effect. This would certainly explain while this peculiar incident only happened that one time, both for you and your friends. Theoretically, the insect morph could still be used for surveillance purposes, but I would not advise using it again to acquire the DNA of other creatures.)_

_(Thank you, Professor Sujak. That will be all. )_

_The professor bowed and then left._

_From there, I showed of the suicide mission consisting of only four Andalites, and what became of that. After those memories were seen, the War Council looked quite uneasy, knowing it had failed – and also because I had something to do with that failure._

_(Why did you interfere, Prince Aximili?) Lirem inquired not-so-nicely._

_(With all due respect, War-Prince, I thought it would be obvious: After the desperate acts that were done on all those years ago on the Hork-Bajir world, could I allow history to repeat itself on Earth?)_

_I do not mean to sound vindictive when I say this, but I had Lirem cornered, and he knew it. By pointing out the past atrocity of the quantum virus used to kill off the Hork-Bajir as an example against his argument of using this anti-Yeerk virus which had a good chance of wiping out the human race as well, I made him look hypocritical._

_Finally, Lirem's already-waning patience had snapped. (How dare you, Prince Aximili! How dare you undermine authority from the highest levels of the Andalite government and military! We give orders so our warriors can carry them out, not question and debate about them! You nearly risked everything! You could have left the entire galaxy wide open for the Yeerks to take over! Maybe even give them enough power to push into other galaxies! With Earth's population of over six billion humans and its excellent resources, the Yeerks would have been able to do that, you know!)_

_The rest of the Council looked thoroughly startled at Lirem's outburst. I could not say that I blamed them._

_(But did we lose at Earth, War-Prince?) I asked with as much sincerity as I could must, trying with all my might to keep the anger out of my voice. In the beginning, I had had respect for Lirem, as I should have, but now my respect was just as quickly waning as his patience._

_But deeper down, I could see what embittered him: After countless years of fighting, battles fought and warriors lost, a small, inexperienced group of human youths managed to bring down the Yeerk Empire, wherein the Andalite race had failed. But beyond his wounded pride, I could sense some other private reasons for wanting to have fought at Earth… but what?_

_However, I still was quite angry at Lirem's hypocrisy at all of this. I almost wish I could have morphed a human right there, so I could grit my teeth, clench my fists, and maybe even yell at him at the top of my lungs…_

_(No, we did not, Prince Aximili, but even still… )_

_(Even still, we could argue about it until the end of time, but the point is still moot!) I said sharply, cutting him off. There was a sharp collective intake of breath, and out of the corner of one of my stalk eyes, I could see my parents looking thoroughly shocked, but I didn't regret my actions as I should have; instead, I merely plowed on, all my thoughts and feelings bursting forth. (What's done is done. The human resistance helped us win at Earth, finally bringing down at the Yeerk Empire. We helped them, and they helped us. But that's not all… we also got help from Hork-Bajir whom we freed, free Taxxons led by a _nothlit_ known as Warrior Arbron, and we even got help from some rebel Yeerks who didn't like how their species was marauding through the galaxy and only wanted peace! I feel I can safely say that with the exception of myself and my brother Elfangor, not to mention all those aforementioned smaller groups, the Andalite people hardly did anything to help Earth! You say that it would have been intolerable if the Yeerks took Earth, and yet there was always some other conflict to run off to instead of Earth! If it would have been intolerable to let the Yeerks have Earth, then why have placed it under quarantine, which is tantamount to handing it over to the Yeerks? The Yeerk-Human axis would have pushed beyond Earth, like as you just said yourself! Even after that, you came within mere hours of wiping out Earth!)_

_I had crossed so many lines in my rant, and I knew it. Lirem was shooting me a look so poisonous I was surprised that I was still alive and on all four hooves. (The Andalite people has the right to do what it must in order to defend itself against the Yeerks or any other threats… you, as a warrior, should know that, Aximili.)_

_(Even if it means wiping out every other innocent race in the galaxy? The Andalite people whom I pledged my loyalty to were not supposed to go releasing viruses and destroying entire worlds in order to deprive the Yeerks of innocent people to enslave! The Andalite people whom I serve are not supposed to decide the fates of other races as though they were the Ellimists themselves! The Andalite people whom I am a part of are not supposed to be allowed to forgo their honor and morals just because they have such powerful spaceships, weapons and forces!)_

_(Oh, and I suppose you'll next be telling us how we should do away with the law of _Seerow's Kindness_ and just hand over some technology to the humans, nevermind the fact we just won the war with the Yeerks?) Lirem shot back rather arrogantly. (Maybe that's why the Yeerks failed at Earth; because they met their match with the humans instead!)_

_(THE HUMANS ARE NOT YEERKS!) I yelled as loud as I could, now absolutely enraged on my friends' behalf. (And to compare me to Seerow would be a poor example. Seerow just freely gave the Yeerks technology among other things out of foolish sympathy; I merely assisted the Animorphs in telling them what they needed to know out of the necessity to win! Just because the Yeerks lied to us and betrayed us, that does not mean that all other less-sentient species are like those slugs!)_

_(Rest assured, Aximili, that even if we _do_ open up friendly relations with the humans, we will not let them have so much to control.)_

_I could tell what Lirem really meant: He wanted some leverage over the human race in order to make sure Andalites stayed more powerful. That arrogant liar!_

_(A word of wisdom, Lirem: _Do not meddle in the affairs of humans, for they are subtle and quick to anger.)

_(If I want advice from the top Andalite expert on humans, I'll ask for it,) Lirem sneered, with warning oozing in his thought-speech voice. (And I will only say this once, Prince Aximili: Once I set certain procedures in place pertaining to Andalite-Human relations from here, I will do what is necessary to make sure that they abide by what we set forth –)_

(That_, Head of Council Lirem, is where you are wrong,) a new thought-speech voice thundered from the entrance on the other end of the chamber._

_Everyone turned their stalk eyes to look at the new entourage that had just entered. It was the Electorate. There was the Electorate leader followed by his ten fellow top Electorate members._

_(Head Councilor Aldexen,) Lirem said with complete and utter shock in his voice. He said this with a tone a human child might use if caught by the parents in the act of trying to sneak some cookies._

_Aldexen gave a slight, courteous bow. (My appointments today were cancelled, so I decided to listen in on this hearing, as I have the right to do.)_

_Lirem went dangerously pale, in spite of his best attempts to conceal it. His fellow council members also shifted uncomfortably._

_(Lirem… the Electorate shall decide this matter from here. You may leave now.)_

_Lirem's tail blade shot up dangerously at being dismissed like that, although he did his best to restrain himself._

_(But… Electorate Councilors, I must protest–!)_

_(This is obviously becoming very stressful for you, Lirem. Why don't you take leave and wait in my office where we can discuss other matters?)_

_Lirem got the hint. However, he had one last thing to say. (And I suppose you will excuse the Prince here for what he said – no, _shouted_ – at me just now?)_

_Aldexen looked between the two of us, trying to be fair without making it look as though he was trying to choose favorites. (While Prince Aximili here may not have acted as he should have, he did make some fine points which none of us Andalites have wanted to accept before and own up to. We cannot continue to do some of the things we did during the Yeerk War, for any reason in the future.)_

_Trying to opt for the better part of valor, I bowed to Lirem and said, (I apologize for arguing with you like that, Head of Council Lirem.)_

_Lirem grudgingly accepted my apology with a subtle gesture, and then stepped down and trotted out of the room. However, he shot me one last look on the way out, one whose meaning I understood perfectly well: _This isn't over.

_Things finished smoothly with Aldexen in charge, and I came out looking like the honorary hero I returned to the home world as. But deep down, I also felt a few small pangs of unease. First my parents, now my superiors – who was I going to fight with next?_

_I was actually starting to miss Earth right about now…_

* * *

(Aximili!) someone hissed to me in thought-speech. 

I gave a small jerk, as though I was dozing off in xeno-biology class again. I turned to see Menderash by my side, wearing a small smirk on his face.

(Thank you, Menderash,) I said finally in private thought-speech. (I needed that, actually.)

The human and Andalite ambassadors had finished talking, and now Saventi was opening a small dark box. Inside for all to see was…

_The stolen morphing cube!_

However, upon closer inspection, I saw that it was only a jagged, uneven _half_ of the cube; it glowed sporadically, giving the appearance that if someone were to touch it, it would jolt them with the energy it ran upon.

"Whoever commanded the Blade ship kept it safe a special container, designed to hold up against all forms of punishment – however, it seems it only did so well against the self-destruct mechanism. We found it among the debris and decided to return it to the Andalites, in spite of its condition."

Camsorar stepped up to receive the broken _Escafil_ device in its new container, which Saventi genially handed over. (A wise and commendable choice of action, Ambassador Saventi. I thank you on behalf of the Andalite race.)

"You are certainly welcome, Ambassador Camsorar."

(However, while we are on the topic of morphing technology, maybe you can answer the question burning in our minds: How did you manage to create the device which can undo the _nothlit_ condition?)

Everyone seemed to lean in closer to hear this.

Looking a little embarrassed (or so I assumed), Saventi said, "While we were tending to Prince Aximili and those who came to rescue him, we inspected the device. We had heard of this technology and how people could be trapped in morph, and so our scientists wanted to see if they could solve the problem, just to see if they could do it. We succeeded, using our own expertise in the various fields of science, as well as through the use of a rare kind of material that can be found only on our home planet, and possibly a few others in our territory as well."

Camsorar handed the box aside to aide, and then gazed upon the Kelbrid ambassador intently. (Please forgive my asking this, Ambassador Saventi, but… how do we know that you did not take the morphing technology for yourselves?)

A thick sort of silence now descended upon the room. My fellow Andalites also gazed intently upon this avian alien, all hoping that our prize technology did not just fall into the hands of yet another species. Saventi looked a little uneasy at this point, but said with unflinching eyes (and what I could only assume to be honesty), "I'm afraid that you and your fellow Andalites are going to have to take my word on that, Ambassador Camsorar. I can't prove that my kind _does not_ have the technology or the power to morph. However, as I sign of my goodwill, I will give you the schematics for the device we constructed for that purpose. In fact… no offense meant, but me and my people don't even _want_ the technology."

An awkward silence now replaced the thick silence, and next to me, I could hear Marco mutter, "Now _there's_ a first."

Camsorar blinked more than once, but quickly regained his composure. He then asked, (No offense taken, but what precisely do you mean by that?)

Saventi shrugged his wings, ruffling his feathers a little. "We Kelbrid have developed our own sorts of technologies for spying, surveillance and combat, and are quite content with those technologies which we do have. Not only do we not _want_ the technology, we really don't _need_ it, either."

More silence… then finally, Camsorar stopped gazing at Saventi and relaxed a little, knowing he would get nothing any more useful from any further questions. (Thank you for your explanation.)

"Indeed," Saventi said with a curt nod. Looking around, Saventi said, "We have been at this for quite a while at now… may we take a short recess before we explain about The One?"

The recess was granted, and everyone relaxed as began to socialize a little.

I maneuvered my way through the crowd, trying to find a way outside. I eventually did manage to get through the nearest available exit, and I was enjoying the sunlight when I accidentally bumped into Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.

(Oh, my apologies, War-Prince,) I said semi-quickly with a dutiful bow.

(Relax, Aximili,) he said with what sounded like a faint trace of amusement in his voice. (No need for such formalities right here and now.)

(Thank you, Alloran.) Looking up again, I asked the old warrior, (So… if you do not mind me asking, how have things been for you since the last time we met at Visser One's trial?)

* * *

TBC…

A/N: Personally, I liked this chapter, especially with the flashbacks involved, and the anti-nothlit technology developed by the Kelbrid explained.

Note about Lirem: Don't like him much now? Well, you're certainly not going to like him later on… _(Although, I do have a confession to make: The shouting match between Aximili and Lirem just sort of came to me as I was writing this chapter!)_

Next chapter is where we see what and how Alloran has been doing since the end of the war… _–Quillian_

_

* * *

**A BIG PLOT BUNNY THAT WOULDN'T STOP BUGGING ME!**_

Hey guys, I just thought of a good crossover idea… _Animorphs_ and _Tremors_!

Picture this… The Yeerks are trying to find something out in the desert, the Animorphs go after them, and both sides end up facing more than they had bargained for! (I kind of got the idea from the _Predator_/_Tremors_ crossover by **Bastet1023**, which is definitely worth checking out.)

_

* * *

_


	7. CHAPTER 7

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Now, we see through the eyes of a character who never narrated anything in the series: The infamous Alloran-Semitur-Corrass!

_This chapter is dedicated to **Kharina** for letting me borrow her version of Alloran's family from her excellent fic, "The Homecoming," which includes the warrior son Baras and the xeno-biologist daughter Marili! Be sure to check it out when you get the chance!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 7**

**Alloran**

My name is Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.

For more than twenty years, I was the host slave to an evil, ruthless Yeerk named Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six who climbed through the ranks of the former Yeerk Empire until he finally gained the title of Visser One.

He was a vicious warlord. The only Andalite-Controller. The only Yeerk with the power to morph. I was known as The Abomination for that, among other reasons.

Even before then, I was disgraced, that being for my actions years before that on the Hork-Bajir home world. In an act of desperation, I unleashed a quantum virus, killing untold numbers of Hork-Bajir in order to kill as many Yeerks as I could and deprive them of as many potential or current hosts as possible.

And then, there was that horrible mission to the Taxxon home world, in which my life irrevocably changed forever for the worse… in which I became the slave to Esplin 9466.

I will not go into detail about just how horribly that experience was, to be the only Andalite-Controller in existence for more than twenty years. Let's just say it was one of the worst things possibly imaginable and leave it at that.

After that, I knew that I had changed forever. Before, I was an arrogant Andalite warrior who had fiercely defended my beliefs in that I had done the best possible thing I could have done on the Hork-Bajir world (considering the circumstances, of course), who had seen the Yeerks' malicious intent before Prince Seerow even knew what had hit him and "knew" that all Yeerks are evil, who knew full well the brutalities of war which one must tolerate, which a certain then-_aristh_ named Elfangor just couldn't accept… now, I just didn't know _what_ to think anymore.

Perhaps I could have made better use of my time all those years ago and found a way to kill the Yeerks while sparing the enslaved Hork-Bajir. Now I knew that all Yeerks weren't evil just because they were capable of controlling other species with their parasitic abilities (a point well-illustrated by the Yeerk Peace Movement, whom I now silently revered; after all, if they could defy their evil empire, they couldn't obviously be all _that_ bad). As for Elfangor… well, it was one subject which I decided to avoid as much as possible.

I will not forget when I joined the Andalite forces after the surrender and subsequent defeat of the Yeerk Empire at Earth…

* * *

_I wandered and grazed in the dome of the _Elfangor_ (well-named, I must admit). The warriors all avoided me if they could help it, and I knew they were conversing in private thought-speech, talking about how _the infamous Alloran-Semitur-Corrass, Abomination and Butcher of the Hork-Bajir_, of all people, was now aboard the ship named after the revered hero War-Prince Elfangor. (How strangely ironic, now that I thought about it.)_

_(Alloran?) came a polite thought-speech inquiry. (Is that really you?)_

_It was Galuit, one of my closest friends. We had known each other since we were mere _arisths_, almost from the first day we had met, and we had become _shorms_. I was so busy brooding that I didn't even notice him coming up to me from one end of the dome._

_(Yes, Galuit, it's me. It is also wonderful to see a familiar face that isn't giving me any bad looks.)_

_He laughed lightly at that._

_(How have you been doing, old friend? How is your family?)_

_Instantly, his smile evaporated, and I knew I must have said something wrong._

_(Galuit, I'm sorry, I…)_

_(No, Alloran, it's fine, you didn't know and it's not your fault. Years ago, my family – my wife and three children – died when a Yeerk raid attacked one of our outposts. They died rather than be captured.)_

_(Oh. I didn't know, Galuit, I'm so sorry…)_

_(It's not your fault, Alloran – or the _visser's_, for that matter.) Here, we both knew he was referring to that slug, Esplin._

_After an uncomfortable moment of silence, I finally asked a question which I was thinking about quite a bit. (Galuit… would you happen to know how my family is doing?)_

_By now, my son, Baras, was 28 years of age, and my daughter, Marili, was 25. The last memories I had of them before my… _capture _were of Baras frolicking around the fields of my family's scoop, and Marili trying to keep up with him._

_(Oh Ellimist, I could even be a grandfather by now!) I said, beginning to panic and jump to conclusions._

_Galuit stifled his laughter at that last comment and answered my original question. (Your family is fine, Alloran. In fact, I sort of became a friend of the family, trying to help them whenever I could. I needed something to do when I was leave, anyway.)_

_It was a sad sort of coincidence, when I thought about it. Galuit, now bereft of his family, was trying to help keep together my family, which I was separated from._

_(I can't thank you enough, Galuit. I will be sure to find some way to repay you for your help, I'll see to that…)_

_Galuit waved it aside. (It's not a problem, Alloran, really.)_

_Deciding to change the subject before I could attempt to persuade him any further, Galuit then added, (By the way, there are also more old friends who are looking forward to seeing you return. You know – the old crowd.)_

_I knew who he meant by that. While Galuit may have been my shorm, there were four other Andalite warriors whom we had been friends with since our days as _arisths_ – Feyorn, Breeyar, Nescord, and Sofor. All six of us had even served together on the _StarSword_ as princes._

_(By the way, Alloran,) Galuit said with a growing smile, (Did you know about Aximili's strange adventure on Leera with his human friends?)_

_(I heard something about them popping out of nowhere and dealing the Yeerks a severe blow on Leera,) I admitted, (but no, I can't really say that I do. Why, what happened, precisely?)_

_Galuit told me about how they helped win the cause, while I told him of these Animorphs' string of victories, thwarting just about every plan the Yeerks came up with on Earth._

_I was about to tell him, but he knew I didn't have to: I was indebted to the Animorphs for all they had done for me._

* * *

I still remember when I first returned to the Andalite home world, the planet which I had not set hoof on in so many years…

* * *

_While the newly-minted Prince Aximili was looked upon with awe, I was being looked upon with shock and disgust. I tried to ignore it all as best as I could._

_Galuit walked down after me, and it was only after we checked through with spaceport security that I made to start for home. However, before I could exit entirely from the spaceport, four familiar Andalites trotted up to me._

_(Hello, Alloran, Galuit,) said Breeyar, followed by Feyorn, Nescord and Sofor._

_I returned their greeting, and we made what humans would call "small talk." My old friends had all "retired," in a sense, since there was no more war to fight in._

_After some minutes, we all went our separate ways… and I went back home to see my family which I had not seen for more than twenty years._

_I galloped across plans and down paths which humans might consider to be like roads, through a couple of villages, until I finally came to my home scoop._

_However, I was so close to coming in plain view of my wife, who was currently tending to the flowers and grasses outside, when I suddenly stopped behind a tree. I found myself unable to go any further. I knew why: I was almost _afraid_ to return home. How would I act? What was I going to say?_

_When I was freed of Esplin at the end of the Yeerk War at Earth, I was so happy to finally be free that I had never considered that some troubles could be only beginning at that point, such as how I would approach my family after so many years?_

_Only now was I wondering what my family could have gone through during my long absence. Were my wife and children ridiculed for being the family of the Abomination, the Butcher of the Hork-Bajir? A whirlwind of emotions was going through me right at that moment, it was almost antagonizing._

_Finally, when I had calmed down, I stepped out from behind a tree…_

_…And found myself face-to-face with my wife._

_(Jahar?)_

_(Alloran? Is that really you?)_

_She looked overjoyed to finally have me back. So far, so good._

_(Yes, Jahar, I'm home.)_

_I wanted to say more, but it felt as though the parts of my brain responsible for speech had just frozen up…_

_She kissed me, and I kissed her in return. This helped loosen up the tension._

_(Our children want to see you, Alloran,) she said with a subtle hint to it. She smiled – oh Ellimist, what a smile! – and looked just as beautiful as I remembered her._

_I followed her, replaying her words in my head. My children _wanted_ to see me? That was a good sign._

_I saw my children, now young adults, on the other side of the scoop, conversing with each other. (Baras is now a full warrior, and Marili is studying advanced xeno-biology,) Jahar quickly informed me._

_My pride of my children grew at that moment, glad to hear of their accomplishments – even if, regretfully, I couldn't be there for them._

_Jahar called out to them, and they both galloped towards me. Strong and sturdy, Baras acted every part of the warrior, and my beautiful Marili moved so gracefully she was like wind solidified._

_Now, I had no real speech planned, so I decided to just say things as I went along._

_Addressing my family as a whole, I spoke to them. (Jahar, Baras, Marili… I know I have done several things, some of which I was responsible for, and some of which I wasn't, yet both of which I have been blamed for. I won't pretend to know whatever you may have gone through in my absence, and I'm sorry for whatever you may have endured from others during that time. I can't go back in time and undo everything which has had its repercussions for all of you, and I'm sorry I missed so many things in your lives. However, I _will_ make sure that I won't leave any of you like that again. I don't know if I can make up for all that lost time, but I am both willing and determined to try my best. I love all of you, and nothing will ever change that.)  
__  
There was momentary silenced as they absorbed and thought about my words to them. Then, finally…_

_(Welcome home, Father,) my son said, followed by my daughter, both of whom looked delighted that I was back again after all this time._

_We talked late into the night, as I caught up with everything they did. I could feel my tension melting away into happiness which I had not known in so long._

* * *

A few days after my return, I went to the War Council building. I was to fill them in with what I knew about Yeerk intelligence that would help them wipe out the rest of the Yeerk Empire. Additionally, I would fill them in on new worlds which the Yeerks discovered that we Andalites didn't know about, as well as some of the species from those worlds which Esplin had made me acquire, which I would morph in order to demonstrate them.

* * *

_I was waiting outside the chamber meant for hearings when I suddenly heard Lirem's thought-speech voice blast through the physical barriers. As I strained to listen, I heard Aximili say something in return… and soon, it turned into a full-blown argument._

_(No way in _yaolin _could this be happening,) I said to myself, but at the same time, I couldn't stop grinning to myself. The back-and-forth shouting was almost like music to my ears; Lirem really was such a pain in the hindquarters a lot of the time, and often acted as though he had plenty of them to deal with._

_(War-Prince Alloran?)_

_I jumped and turned my stalks to see Electorate Leader Aldexen and his entourage. Turning now to face them fully, I dutifully greeted them._

_(We will begin with our appointment shortly, Alloran,) Aldexen said with a hint of kindness in his voice. (But first, I must break up the foals in there, before they start spilling blood…)_

_I laughed as they went in. I stopped laughing well before Lirem stalked out afterwards, looking like some dark blue thundercloud. He was so furious that he didn't even acknowledge my presence, which I actually considered to be something of a blessing._

_Aximili came out some time after that, looking quite proud of himself. His parents came out behind him, stopping briefly to greet me before leaving with their son._

_At the same time, I was both sorry about how I was indirectly involved in the awful death of their son Elfangor, and yet glad that they didn't blame me for it._

_I was called in not long after that. Composing myself as best as I could, I took a deep breath and walked in._

_I took a good look at the Electorate Councilors as I walked in: Half of them seemed to wish I wasn't there, while the other half seemed kindly considerate._

_Once things got started, I told them all the info I knew and remembered from my time as a Controller. I also demonstrated all the various morphs I had acquired over the years during that time, telling them what each species was, which planet it came from and where, and so on. After that, I submitted to a memory dump in order to recall other details. However, some of them were kind of fuzzy every now and then, since after some time I had become used to hiding somewhere in a little corner of my own head as the visser went about his way._

_It seemed that not only had I provided a treasure trove of information to my superiors, but had also provided tons of new data for xeno-biologists._

_Here, I briefly wondered if somehow my warrior son and my xeno-biologist daughter would benefit from all this new info for their fields of work._

_Before this hearing was over, I asked what I would do now._

_(Well, War-Prince Alloran, I assumed you want to retire and spend some more time with your family,) Aldexen said._

_(Well,) I said, (That's the thing. On one hand, I vowed to myself that I would spend more time with my family… and yet on the other hand, I feel the sort of need to make up for… past mistakes and incidents of mine.)_

_They all knew full well what I was talking about. Taking a moment to choose his words, Aldexen finally said, (Well, since you _did _just provide us with enough information to fill a Dome ship, I would say that you have already accomplished the latter.)_

_This was true._

_(So… I guess I will be rejoining my family, then.)_

_And with a few more exchanges, the hearing was concluded._

* * *

The next year or so was spent trying to mend things with my family. Overall, things were great… but occasionally, there would be some unease between myself and my wife and/or my children. 

I remember one particular night when I had a serious row with Baras. I don't remember the exact details as to what started the argument, but I do remember my son yelling as to why he should listen to _me_ of all people before he stormed out of our scoop and galloped off into the night.

I spent the whole night trying to find him in my _kafit_ bird morph, demorphing and remorphing as I had to. When he was still missing by the next morning, I had given up and hoped he would come back soon.

I just happened to come across Aximili on the way back…

* * *

_I had stopped by a stream to absorb some grass and water when I heard some thought-speech directed towards me. (War-Prince Alloran?)_

_It was Aximili. I stopped grazing for a moment and turned to face him. (Yes, Prince Aximili?)_

_(What are you doing here? This is an area near my family's land.)_

_I looked down, embarrassed. (I'm sorry, Aximili, I didn't realize –)_

_(No, that's fine, Alloran. My parents are visiting some friends, and I am here spending some time to myself.)_

_(What about your job as a liaison to Earth?)_

_(I have worked out most of the transfer deals with the humans, supervised the morphing of Yeerks and Taxxons into _nothlits_, and plenty of other Andalite diplomats are now taking over for me. I am essentially now done.)_

_We walked back towards my own lands, conversing along the way._

_When we arrived back at my own scoop, not only had Baras still not returned, but Jahar and Marili we also gone. Depressed, I looked around, hoping to find something to be distracted by. Here I noticed a human book under Aximili's arm. I read the title:_ The Odyssey.

_(What is that about?) I asked with a gesture to the book._

_(Oh, this?) Aximili picked up the book and showed me the cover more clearly. (It is a new edition of an ancient epic, which is a retelling of mythical adventures from the ancient human country of Greece.)_

_(What's it about?)_

_(There was a war between the city-kingdoms of Greece and the heavily defended city of Troy. For ten long years, the Greeks and Trojans fought each other, as is recorded in a companion story called _The Iliad_. Anyway, the war dragged on until a wily and clever Greek king by the name of Odysseus managed to end the war through a move of deception. With Troy sacked, the Greek kings and their armies all left and started sailing back to their homes._

_(However, for Odysseus, he was only beginning on his own adventures. Over the course of the ten years after that, he had to contend with gods, monsters, violent peoples, humans with supernatural powers, and even a brief detour to the Underworld, the realm of the dead. Finally, even after he returned back home to his island kingdom of Ithaca, he was faced with a few more problems to deal with. His wife, Penelope, was now being harassed by suitors who hoped to marry her for her wealth and kingdom when they were not lounging around as unwelcome guests, and Odysseus' son Telemachus, who was an infant when he left for war and was now a young man, did his best to defend Penelope. Odysseus also disguised himself as a beggar to find out whether or not his wife was still faithful to him – a lesson he learned from the ghost of Agamemnon, who had been the first of the Greek kings to return home, only to be murdered by his unfaithful wife and her conspirator._

_(In the end, Odysseus revealed himself at last, slaying all the vile suitors and reuniting with his wife and son. The word _odyssey_ is derived from his name, meaning something to the effect of "a long perilous journey." )_

_(An interesting tale,) I commented finally after Aximili was done with his synopsis. (Ironically, I can certainly draw some parallels between my awful experiences and those of the story's hero… although I doubt that this Odysseus was ever a Controller…)_

_Aximili then gave a small smile. (No, he was not a Controller, although part of what took Odysseus so long to return home was the conflict of interests between the goddess of wisdom who favored him and the god of the seas who hated him. He was controlled by fate, certainly, but not by a parasitic slug.)_

_We shared a laugh, and through one of my stalk eyes, I saw my family trotting up towards our scoop – with Baras among them!_

_Well, War-Prince, I think it is time for me to leave now, said Aximili, catching on to how my family need me, and – to use a human term – _vice versa.

_Aximili briefly greeted my family before going on his way. After he was gone, Baras came up to me and apologized for his earlier discourtesy. I accepted his apologies, and then extended my own for saying things which I had not given much thought about before I said them._

_While my two children went off to go and graze, Jahar came up to me. (That was a truly beautiful story Aximili mentioned, even if it was only a summary.)_

_(Now that I think about it, the parallels are uncanny.) We moved on to different topics of conversation after that, and yet the story of that wandering king still remained somewhere in the back of my mind. I may have had a Yeerk in my head all those years, but I suppose at least it was a good thing that I didn't have to fight off a load of males interested in Jahar. That would have undoubtedly been very bloody and messy._

* * *

After that, there came the time when Aximili and myself would be heading to Earth for Visser One's trial. Accompanied by a legal advisor named Salawan, whom I actually knew and remembered vaguely from primary school, we went to that jewel of a planet which the Yeerks had gambled to heavily on and lost everything at. 

However, before I left, I promised my family that I would be back in a month, at the most. (Andalite months are slightly longer than Earth months, and we have ten months in our year as opposed to the twelve on the most widely accepted calendar used on Earth.)

During that time, Salawan read up the human judicial system that would be used, and was actually impressed with some of their concepts, ranging from rights read to a person as they were being arrested to having these _lawyers_ represent them in court.

However, upon meeting with the people running the trial and telling them about my enslavement to the visser, combined with how some memories were fuzzy from constantly being mercilessly controlled by him, it was decided that I would not be used as a witness. Most of it had to do with how my enslavement cut too closely to self-incrimination, supplemented by how some details and events were too hard to recall. At first, I was somewhat disappointed by how I would not be able to contribute to putting Esplin 9466 away for life, but at least they let me stay in court so I could watch him go down, which I admit was somewhat satisfying.

Before going back, I was sure to pick up a copy of _The Iliad_ and _The Odyssey_ each.

Presently, I was talking to Aximili again, both of catching up on what each of us were doing in our lives. It was strange, how both of seemed to form a loose, unofficial sort of… well, I wouldn't call it friendship, but hopefully you know what I mean. Of course, I felt myself to be in debt to Aximili and his human friends. It was also satisfying to know that they did not shun my presence, even after all they had been through at the visser's hands.

After several minutes of talking amiably, a human security officer approached the two of us and told us that the session would now resume.

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: Personally, I think I liked this chapter as well, what with all the flashbacks involved in it.

Note about the Andalite word _"yaolin"_: Samilin said this in _The Decision_, and judging from its word usage, I think it may be like the Andalite version of Hell. Any thoughts on this?

Note about the Odysseus/Alloran parallels: I think I did a pretty good job here. _(Also, for those of you who would like to read _The Odyssey_, a good book to check out is the recent translation of it by Robert Fagles.)_

Next chapter is where we get back on track after finishing the flashbacks, and the finally learn more from the Kelbrid about this new evil being who calls himself "The One"… _–Quillian_

* * *

**_IMPORTANT NOTICE!_** Okay, there is something here which I should get straightened out now… 

About the proposed _Animorphs/Tremors_ crossover: I'm glad that some people seem to like the idea, but just to elaborate, I said that I would be interested if **someone else wrote it**.

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	8. CHAPTER 8

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Now, we see something from the POV of a Kelbrid! _(Has this ever been done before in Animorphs fanfiction? Does anyone know?)_

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

**Vegren**

My name is Vegren Alterr.

I am a Kelbrid. My full "title," you could call it, is _Karmaad_ Vegren Alterr din-Kalmesh. For those of you who are not familiar with Kelbrid names and such, that means my first (personal) name is Vegren, my last (family) name is Alterr, I am of the Kalmesh nation, and I hold the rank of _karmaad_ in the Kelbrid military.

For years, my people have had a proviso in place with the Andalites. We had few yet very good reasons for this: We wanted to do some things on our own, we really didn't have any particular need to do anything with them, and also importantly, we did not want to get involved in the war with the Yeerks.

Speaking of which, despite how far our territory is from the territory in which Earth is (Andalite territory actually separates the two), we somehow get transmissions from Earth fired deep into space which come in a matter of weeks, as opposed to months or even years. This is a peculiar anomaly which even our best scientists are unable to figure out or explain. Still, it is how we learned so much about Earth (we even have people whose primary job it is to record information from such things as the History Channel or the Discovery Channel), and it is also how we Kelbrid learned about the end of the Yeerk War, and also information on the Andalites as well.

The Kelbrid are somewhat more advanced than the Andalites; perhaps the fact that we are naturally able to fly is part of how we were able to understand the physics behind flight and build flight-capable craft much sooner than they could. We probably were traveling via Z-space a thousand or so years before the Andalites were, two thousand years at the most.

Anyway, I was here with my mentor, the great Ambassador Saventi Pakkenna. While I was also a _karmaad_ in the Kelbrid military, which is about halfway up the chain of ranks, I was aiming to go even higher; Saventi was tutoring me in that, and it shows, because otherwise, there is no way I would be allowed to even _talk_ directly to his bodyguards back at his shuttle parked outside.

We Kelbrid are not a naturally hostile race. True, we are plenty capable of defending ourselves from other races even as strong as the Andalites, but like most other sentient races in the galaxy, were are overall peaceful but can be hostile when provoked and urged to defend ourselves. In fact, the whole "hostile Kelbrid" thing was more of an act to ensure that the Andalites would keep their end of the proviso. Of course, it also helped when we destroyed an entire Yeerk flotilla less than an hour after they dropped out of Z-space with no casualties on our side, and then transmitted recordings of their humiliating defeat to the Andalites, just for effect.

Now, as the diplomatic session was resuming after its short recess, I took my place with High Scribe Skiba Kraennell behind our ambassador. Skiba took out a hologram projector and a disc, handing both to Saventi just as the humans sat down and the Andalites allowed themselves to slouch a little.

It was finally time to get to the point of our business here: Inform both other species on this evil entity who calls himself The One.

"Our intelligence that this being who calls himself 'The One' is unlike any other form of life we've ever encountered or even heard about," Saventi was saying. "That may also be the cause to his name: There are no others like him. He is more energy then solid matter, and even then, his solid matter made out of inorganic material. He can possess people, but only one being at a time, and even then, for only a few days. Think of the Yeerks, and you may get a better idea." Here, a wave of disgust rippled throughout the crowd.

"Wait a minute," one of the humans said. We recognized him to be Jake Berenson, leader of the Animorphs. "We saw the transmission as The One introduced himself… it started out as a human-Controller, then shifted to Aximili… we thought it could absorb multiple beings as a collective or something."

Here, Saventi gave a Kelbrid smile. "That was but a simple trick. The same way you humans have methods of creating false images, such as trick photography or certain computer programs, The One did that to make himself look more powerful and fearsome than he actually was.

"While you and your friends were recuperating, Mr. Berenson, we diagnosed Prince Aximili. He suffered possession from The One, who made him morph some random human-Controller, which The One then used during his brief conversation with you."

(That leads me to answering a question which has been on my mind ever since I was freed of that vile creature,) Aximili spoke up. (Why is it I do not remember anything from being… _possessed_ by The One?)

"The One might be able to control people, but unlike a Yeerk, there are differences when it has control of a being. While a Controller may be conscious yet unable to do anything while being Controlled, any being possessed by The One is unconscious during such a time."

"How is it you know so much about this… monster?" one human ambassador asked.

Saventi's face darkened a little at this. "We have had our own encounters with this being before. But through these unpleasant encounters, we have been able to learn both his strengths and his weaknesses."

"So how do we come into this?" a human military general asked.

"Because… just as the late Yeerk Empire wanted Earth for its resources and its inhabitants as slaves, The One and his legions also have their sights set on this bountiful planet. Our intelligence confirms this. The One is one of those greedy beings who wants to take control of whatever he can, and destroy whatever he cannot." Here turning to the Andalites, Saventi also added, "The One also seems to want to attack and conquer your world and your people as well, although for what reasons, we do not know."

Both the humans and the Andalites, despite their various differences, all seemed to convey the same general expression at this news. They weren't to happy about having to be involved in another war, and yet they were determined to do what they had to.

(What sort of enemies are we dealing with, and how many of each?) an Andalite War-Prince named Galuit asked.

Saventi sighed as he accepted a datapad from Skiba and looked over the numbers. "In the few years since the end of the Yeerk War, they managed to bring in more than a thousand Yeerks, not just from Earth but also other planets affected by the Yeerk Empire, and they now have around ten thousand Yeerks. This may not sound like much, but bigger numbers are not always a guarantee of success, as has often been proved time and again. Also, practically the entire Skrit Na race has joined – they eagerly accepted The One's offer to join and be rewarded with all the different specimens from conquered species to add to their zoos, museums, libraries and such. As for the Norshk, well… I suppose I should explain about them first."

Pressing a couple of buttons, Saventi projected the image of a reptilian creature: A Norshk. From head to tail, it was about as long as the Earth creature known as a Komodo dragon, if not longer. It had a bit of an ovoid main body, with a back covered with a pattern that looked like the shell of an Earth turtle. In fact, like a turtle, its back was hard, yet unlike a turtle, it had no shell yet could shift its back muscles to some extent in order to make some parts of its back more resistant to punishment. Also like a turtle, it had a similar sort of head and face. The Norshk had three pairs of appendages: First, there were its arms, which ended in slightly webbed claws that looked somewhat like human hands (five fingers, including one opposable thumb on each hand); then there were its strong, sturdy back legs, which were much more webbed; and finally came a middle pair of appendages, which were technically legs, but the unique thing about these legs were that their "feet" looked more like a cross between Norshk hands and feet, and so they were designed primarily for walking but could also be used to manipulate objects like hands. Finally, there was its tail: At least a few feet long, the tail ended in a sort of club, the same way an Andalite tail ended in a scythe-like blade. A Norshk could use its heavy tail to balance back on two legs, as well as a sort of weapon.

After briefly explaining about the Norshks' unique physiology, Saventi continued with explaining about the Norshk role in this whole conflict. "The Norshk race is – or at least _was_ – somewhat more advanced than the human race is at the moment. About the same time as the Yeerk invasion on Earth was defeated, a war broke out among the Norshk between their two major nations – one a democracy, the other a dictatorship. With the Yeerk Empire finished, the Norshk dictatorship managed to get hold of a lot of leftover weapons, giving them a small advantage over their enemies. Recently, our intelligence informed us that the dictatorship is planning on making a deal with The One. If they serve and help The One, then The One will give them enough weapons to conquer their democratic enemies. If this happens, then the survivors will most likely be enslaved and turned over to the Yeerks for infestation. Furthermore, the Norshk home world has deposits of certain valuable metals, minerals and other materials which would aid The One greatly, making things even more difficult for us. Their home world is almost as bountiful in resources as Earth itself."

One Andalite officer whose name I didn't know now spoke up. (Are you suggesting that if we form an alliance with you Kelbrid, one of our first moves should be to help the Norshk democracy?)

Saventi gave a small smile. "Precisely. To let The One have evil new allies, innocent slaves to be made into Controllers and a good portion of that planet's resources could be considered almost intolerable. However, we do not request human or Andalite forces for helping turn the tide on the Norshk home world; we have plenty of troops and resources to accomplish that ourselves."

Saventi removed his smile and got to a point, as he saw the new expressions on the humans' and Andalites' faces. "We are sure we know what all of you are thinking, about having to fight in yet another war after such a seemingly short time from the end of the Yeerk War. I would like to establish right now that we Kelbrid are not _demanding_ your aid in this conflict. We will not force you to fight if you do not wish to do so. However, with all the forces which The One is amassing and his intentions for both Earth and the Andalite home world, you may not have much of a choice except to fight with us. Millenia ago, our own people fought this evil entity which ravaged our world, until we were able to retaliate with a sufficient counterattack which made him flee in the end. We know how he works and what he does, which we know from accounts of Kelbrid who fought in that war – some who survived, but plenty who did not. Trust us when we say this: You do not want him to ravage either of your home worlds as he did with others and nearly did with our own."

There was a stiff pause as our alien hosts considered these words.

Saventi gave a small sigh, starting to show fatigue. It had been a rough day for him, between last-minute planning for these talks as well as actually running these talks. "If it is acceptable, may we adjourn for today? I think we all need some time to think things over."

Saventi's request was granted, and members from all three species present retired to their temporary staying places.

I accompanied Saventi and Skiba back to our shuttle. We were a few steps away from entering it when we heard a thought-speech voice that didn't "sound" like that of an Andalite. (Um, Ambassador Saventi?)

The three of us looked up to see a hawk flying overhead. (As you probably already know, my name is Tobias. I'm one of those Animorphs, and a friend of Jake Berenson.)

"A pleasure to meet you, Tobias," Saventi called up to him just loudly enough. "Please, come on down."

Tobias fluttered down, and deciding to give a makeshift perch, I took my _skria-tark_ and extended it with a _shnik_. A _skria-tark_ is a certain Kelbrid weapon which all Kelbrid warriors traditionally take with them. At first, it looks like a normal scythe (like the kind humans have been using for millennia in their wheat fields), but there is a certain switch on the handle which makes it extend to be as long as a Kelbrid is tall. This whole time, the Kelbrid warrior bodyguards back at the ship were using their extended _skria-tarks_.

Anyway, Tobias settled on the sharp end, just near the scythed blade, and faced Saventi. (Ambassador Saventi… After some careful consideration, I was wondering if I could maybe be subjected to your device that "cures" _nothlits_. I think this hawk body of mine is starting to get old…)

Saventi replied with a small, amused chuckle. "Of course, Tobias. Perhaps after these meetings end in a few days. Is that acceptable for you?"

Tobias gave a gesture that vaguely reminded me of a human shrug. (That works fine. Thanks again.)

And with that, he took off.

As I retracted my _skria-tark_, I an my two fellow Kelbrid went back inside.

The next day, we were just beginning to resume our meeting with the humans and Andalites when trouble struck. Everyone had just barely settled down when when a BOOM resonated, causing the meeting building to actually shake a little.

The next moment, a young Andalite warrior rushed into the building, skidding to a stop in front of his Andalite superiors. He must have been in quite a panic, since he shouted in his thought-speech for all to hear. (Prince Aximili, we are being attacked! We have several Yeerk Bug fighters, Skrit Na raiders and unknown craft heading this way! Our ships up in orbit are reporting two Pool ships, a Blade ship and more unknown craft attacking them!)

There was a collective gasp, but both the humans and the Andalites were quick to respond. The human ambassadors all retreated to a safe hiding place while the soldiers all ran out, preparing to put up a fight. The Andalite warriors all leapt to attention and moved out, while Saventi, Skiba and myself made our way back to our shuttle.

However, as Skiba ran into the shuttle, Saventi stayed behind me for a moment. "_Karmaad_ Vegren, Skiba and I will be fine with the four pilots assigned to protect my ships! You lead my other ten bodyguards and defend the others here at the summit!"

I was about ready to protest because I felt the duty to protect Saventi, but I knew better to argue with him. Finally giving an affirmative response, I ran back towards the site with my ten warriors while Saventi's shuttle took off, protected by four of our fighters. It was indeed a small number, but no doubt Kelbrid reinforcements were on the way from our ship parked in Earth's orbit.

A transport was landing, and out of it rushed out more than a hundred of what looked to be Hork-Bajir, Taxxons and even humans. But I knew the truth: They were all Controllers. They must have been the few left since the end of the Yeerk War.

In my own language, I shouted to my warriors: "Get ready, warriors! Let us fight alongside the humans and Andalites, and prove to them that were are capable and trustworthy allies!" After they cheered to this, I gave out the order: "Bladed Air Wave attack, now!"

Perhaps I should explain: This is one formation of attack where the leader of the attack flies ahead, with his fellow attackers of to the sides and slightly behind, making a sort of wide V-shaped formation. We fly up into the air and come down in an arc, _skria-tarks_ extended, and strike like a wave in that formation.

About a hundred feet up, we got a good view of the beginning battle down below, as the Controllers rushed head-on into an oncoming wave of human soldiers and Andalite warriors. Flying from overhead and directly above the humans and Andalites, we dived in like Earth falcons, with all of Kelbrid warriors thinking the same thought:

_Time to fight._

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: Uh-oh, what's going on now? Who's attacking? What are the attackers' intentions…?

Note regarding Vegren's "title" and "nationality": Just like how people from America are American, people from France are French, and so on, to say that a Kelbrid is "din-Kalmesh," for example, means they are from the Kalmesh nation of Kelbrid (literally "from Kalmesh").

Note about my version of the Norshk: How was my description? Not too confusing, was it?

Note about the Kelbrid plan with the Norshk: I plan to show that in this story instead of the sequel, so we get to see it sooner and see some Kelbrid in action!

Next chapter is a special treat of a battle chapter: First we see a wild chase from Ax's POV, and then we see the fight back at the location from Vegren's POV, and the aftermath from Alloran's POV… _–Quillian_

* * *

**_EXTRA FOR THE READERS!_**

I kind of made the Kelbrid language to be made mostly of Latin-sounding words, with some Hebrew-sounding words thrown in as well. I like Latin and am studying it in college, and now, for the sake of curiosity, I'm now trying to put some Animorph terms into Latin (mainly the names of the different species).

Animorph would probably be _Animorphus__, -i_ (masculine), or _Animorpha__, -ae_ (feminine), depending on the gender of the Animorph…  
Andalite? _Andalitus__, -i_.  
Yeerk? _Iercum__, -a_. (Technically, Yeerks are genderless, and thus, neuter.)  
Gedd? _Geddus__, -i_.  
Taxxon? _Taxxonus__, -i_.  
Hork-Bajir? _Horc-Baiir__, -oris_.  
Arn? _Arnus__, -i_.  
Leeran? _Leera__, -ae_.  
Kelbrid? _Celbridus__, -i_.  
Ketran? _Cetranus__, -i_.  
Capasin? _Capasinus__, -i_.  
Ellimist? _Ellimistus__, -i_.  
Crayak? _Creiacus__, -i_.  
Elfangor? _Elfangor__, -oris_.  
Aximili? _Aximilus__, -i_.  
The One? _Unum_.  
Controller? _Moderator, -oris_.

Also, for those who are interested, I'm trying to translate the book titles into Latin. If anyone wants a copy when I'm done, please feel free to let me know!

* * *


	9. CHAPTER 9

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Now, we get to see a chapter narrated by more than one character! Here's my first battle scene ever for Animorphs fanfiction; I just hope you all like it!

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to **Edriss**, for illustrating my version of the Kelbrid… among other things! Be sure to check it out on her DeviantArt profile! (Go to Edriss' user profile, then go to the link from there.)_

* * *

**CHAPTER 9**

**Aximili**

The attack "came out of the blue" as humans would say. Calling my fighter squadron to attention, we rushed back to our fighters which were parked nearby.

(Ax!)

Turning one of my stalks, I saw Tobias swooping in, flying alongside me. Keeping pace with my galloping, he confided in me, (I figured it was best to stick with you.)

(A wise decision, Tobias,) I replied as calmly as I could while we fled to the Andalite fighters.

Tobias was about to dive into my own fighter after me when a large Dracon beam blast hit the ground near me and my pilots. I only got some dust on me, but one of my younger warriors was severely wounded; somehow in the fall, he managed to break all four of his legs.

(Warrior Seerian!) I yelled.

(Just go on without me, my Prince!) Seerian shouted, trying to be brave. (Don't worry about me!)

(Ax!) Tobias shouted to me. (I have an idea… Can I pilot Seerian's fighter for him?)

I actually almost asked Seerian for his permission, but that would have almost been a _faux pas_ for an Andalite prince to make: Andalite warriors request permission from their princes, not the other way around.

As a few Andalite and human medics came to Seerian's aid and got him out of there, while Tobias morphed an Andalite, looking like my twin.

(Lead the way, Prince Aximili,) I heard my own voice say to me as my "twin" leapt into Seerian's fighter.

Stifling a grunt of amusement, I said in response, (Then follow me, "Warrior" Tobias.)

Our fighters were prepped and ready to go. We took off, up into the air – we also had to be careful around our airborne Kelbrid guests – and were ready to fight off the descending transports filled with Controller shock troops.

However, this task was made much harder because each transport was escorted by at least three Bug fighters. I was just deciding what to do when my warriors and myself got a mirrorwave call from War-Prince Galuit.

(The Kelbrid and the humans are sending troops of their own to contend with the transports and their troops inside once they land! You just worry about the Bug fighters and try to stay alive!)

(Well, you heard the War-Prince,) I said to my pilots, trying to play the role as leader of the fighter squadron. (Fry the Bug fighters!)

And with that, we engaged our enemies in open air combat.

I had my pilots pair up, with two Andalite pilots fighting together, and ordered Tobias to stick by me.

(Yes, Prince Ax.)

(Please do not call me that, Tobias,) I told my _shorm_.

(Of course, Prince Ax.)

Here, I allowed myself a brief sigh of frustration. Was this some sort of divine retribution for all the times I had addressed Jake like that years ago?

The time for chatter was over as we picked a fight with two Bug fighters heading straight at us.

However, before I could even give orders, Tobias rolled in mid-air to avoid a shot from one Bug fighter's Dracon beams, and swigging around, fired right back, hitting it perfectly.

It was amazing. It was as though Tobias was a piloting prodigy. I mean, of course he knew how to basically fly, after spending the last several years of his life mainly as a bird. But to fly an Andalite fighter like that as though he had been doing it for years…

(How are you flying so well, Tobias?) I asked him, utterly amazed.

(I don't know!) Tobias shouted back to me in response. (It almost feels as though I was born for this!)

(Well, whatever it is you're doing, don't stop!) I advised him as we continued to fly and fight.

A few more Bug fighters dropped out of the sky, and while on a strafing run, Tobias hit them all in a row. The flaming wreckage of one even dropped right onto a transport ship that had just landed, destroying it before it could even yield its Controller troops inside.

The fight went on, and Tobias seemed to be almost equal in caliber in me, I am both shocked and proud to say. Just as I shot down the last Bug fighter, we got new orders from higher up.

(All Andalite pilots: It has just come to our attention that some Skrit Na raiders have entered the atmosphere near where you are! Chase them down, but remember our policy: Shoot to disable!)

I ordered my pilots to follow me, and together, we tracked the Skrit Na raiders across the desert, engines burning.

Ever since the early days of my people's alliance with Earth, we had since made some modifications to our own fighters for atmospheric combat, should some other alien race ever try to attack this planet again. Now, just about all our fighters had extra heat shields, designed for chases through a planet's atmosphere. However, we never really had a need to try these new shields before.

That is, until today.

As we began the chase, I gave some orders of my own to my squadron, remembering what Elfangor said in his _hirac delest_ about when he stole a Skrit Na raider and flew across the surface of the Taxxon home world. (We will chase the Skrit Na, but should we come across any human towns or other settlements, try to avoid harming them without compromising our orders. After all, we will probably be putting our new heat shields to the test.)

(Yes, Prince Axmili,) my pilots all replied.

And with that, the chase began.

At more than a thousand miles per hour, we blazed across the desert, over barren sandy and rocky wastes with little or no animal or plant life. We raced east, following a single Skrit Na raider. So far, no loss of sentient life.

We kept trying to take shots in order to disable the raider, but it would just veer off to one side while we tried to keep up with it. And so the chase continued.

(Prince Aximili, the Skrit Na raider is heading for that giant canyon!) one of my warriors told me.

I saw it up ahead: The Grand Canyon. One of the biggest canyons on Earth and more than a billion years old, it stretched for miles.

And as the raider reached the edge, it plunged downwards into it.

(Follow that raider, no matter what!) I told my warriors.

And thus, we plunged in after it.

It was both exhilarating and stressful, following all the twists and turns of the canyon to stop the Skrit Na raider without crashing into the large rock walls. Lots of times, we had to cut back on speed in order to make the turns without actually crashing.

Finally, Tobias managed to catch up with me, and all of a sudden, he fired!

TSAP!

It hit the raider just above the engines, but it wasn't enough to destroy it. Tobias fired again and –

TSAP! BAWOOM!

The engines blew out! The raider went down in smoke, and crashed along the rocky ground and skidded to a halt before finally stopping. However, it did not explode, but was still in one piece. I certainly doubted that it would ever be able to fly again.

(Excellent work,) I commended my warriors. As we all slowly descended to make a closer inspection, I punched up a few commands and the scanning took place.

In more recent years, my people had developed a new technology to scan the inside of enemy ships. However, it was designed more for the purpose of inspecting Skrit Na ships at a distance to determine whether or not they had any life forms hostage on board. Since most known life forms give off body heat, part of the scanning device used heat sensors.

Now that the engines were shut off from all the damage, I could use the scanners better. I took a look at who – or what – was on board the ship. A few Na at the helm, a couple of Skrit lumbering around the cargo area, perhaps a few cocoons in one corner…

But, to my surprise and eventual horror, I saw heat readings climb from a device that was attached to the ship's helm…

(All warriors, get out of there NOW!) I yelled, trying not to let too much panic bleed into my thought-speech voice. (It's a self-destruct mechanism!)

They didn't need to be told twice. Aiming our fighters upwards and powering up the engines, we were out of there.

We had just cleared the edge of the canyon when it exploded behind us. It was powerful, but not as much as the explosion from the time when the Animorphs and I rigged a subway train with several bombs to destroy the Yeerk pool. Still, this explosion _was_ rather powerful.

I ordered my warriors to settle down away from the edge of the canyon cliff. I exited my fighter and stepped out onto the sand, trying my best to tolerate the desert heat. My warriors, likewise, all exited their fighters and came up to me. I gave out orders to let them rest for a bit before we returned. We would also have to give accounts of what happened to human and our own Andalite authorities alike.

However, I noticed that someone was missing: Tobias.

Turning my stalk eye to Tobias' fighter, I said, (Is something wrong, Tobias?)

(Erm, Ax?) came an unfamiliar thought-speech voice. However, it did sound familiar somehow…

(Tobias? Is that you?) I asked, perplexed.

(Yes, it's me. Anyway, I'm exiting the fighter now. Please, don't be alarmed.)

With that, the hatch to his fighter opened, and he descended.

What appeared to be an Andalite adolescent appeared, looking hardly any older than I did when I first met the Animorphs. In fact, he seemed to resemble Elfangor to a point, as though my older brother had had an Andalite child.

(Yes, Ax, it's me, Tobias,) he said.

I was about to ask what happened when he gave me another surprise.

He demorphed… _into his human form._

If I were in my human morph when I saw this, my mouth probably would have been hanging wide open in shock.

However, after he was finished demorphing, he yelped in pain and ran back to the cool shade of the fighter's interior; the hot desert sands hurt his bare feet.

(Tobias,) I said, trying to remain as calm as I could in front of my curiously-looking warriors, (Could you please explain exactly what is going on here?)

"Heh, well, Ax," he said, choosing his words and looking somewhat embarrassed, "You just might not believe this…"

* * *

**Vegren**

My own warriors and I were flying and striking, using a tactic which humans would call "hit-and-run" (although in our case, it was more like "hit-and-fly").

After the Andalite prince Aximili and his warriors went off after some solitary Skrit Na raider, some of our own fighters went after the Bug fighters and the transports.

While I didn't lose focus on my enemies whom I was fighting on the ground, I did at times catch glimpses of our own Kelbrid fighters cutting up the Bug fighters – quite literally.

At first glance, our fighters have stationary wings raked forward at 45-degree angles to the main body. However, the wings could pivot, until they were at 90-degree right angles to the main body. Then, after that, the wings extended into sharp blades. Like humans do on Earth, we often found, used and refined steel, but we had a technique which humans had probably yet to develop – we had a way of increasing the blade's strength and durability tenfold.

So, with these deadly wings, we could cut through the sorts of materials which some races such as Andalites and Yeerks made their spaceships out of. Combine these deadly fighters' weapons with their incredible speed, and whatever poor sod in the sliced ship would never know what hit him until it was too late.

So, as our fighters took over for the Andalite fighters, we warriors fought alongside human soldiers and Andalite warriors on the ground.

Now, I should tell you now that we Kelbrid are more naturally suited for aerial combat with our bodies (in case you somehow haven't already guessed). On the ground, our wings can be something of a liability, a disadvantage, if you will. So, normally, Kelbrid warriors don't like hand-to-hand combat on the ground, even though it is mandatory for us to learn it.

Me, however… well, I like to improvise.

For example: When one human-Controller tried to kick my knee in order to break it, he thought he had successfully broken my knee. However, thanks to a little trick of evolution, we Kelbrid have evolved with knees that can bend either forwards _or_ backwards, depending on whether we need to walk on the ground or hunt from the air. In the end, the human-Controller did no harm to _me_, but I managed to deal sufficient harm to _him_. I accomplished this by pivoting on my other leg, snatching the Controller in the center of his chest with the clawed foot he merely kicked another way, dragging him along the desert sand and dirt under me, and tossed him up in the air behind me. He flew about a good five feet in an arc before crumpling on the ground in what must have been a very uncomfortable position. I think he may have survived, but I wasn't sure.

Anyway, I continued to fight with such proficiency, movement and grace that I think my fights may have seemed almost like an art form to some. I think one of my cleverest moves was when I brought my extended _skria-tark_ blade in an arc overhead to fatally slice a Taxxon-Controller rushing up to me – and then brought it back over my head in reverse to hit a human-Controller over the head with the blade's blunt side after she tried to sneak up on me from behind.

Systematically and methodically, the other Kelbrid warriors and myself picked off our targets – Hork-Bajir-Controllers were the primary targets, human-Controllers were the secondary targets, and Taxxon-Controllers were the tertiary targets. (If you think about it, you should be able to understand the reasoning behind this.)

Finally, the transport ships stopped coming, and we were finally able to ascertain how many we had left to fight and defeat. With a more definite victory now in sight, I called my warriors on to victory. We plowed our way through Controllers, cutting and hitting them down as we went. I was about to deliver the final blow to one fatally wounded Hork-Bajir-Controller…

…When suddenly, three of his fellows jumped me.

"My host body is dying," the Controller coughed out. "However… Hold him down. I think I've just lost a weapon and gained a whole armory…"

I saw the Yeerk crawl out of the Hork-Bajir's ear just as the Hork-Bajir itself died. As two of the Hork-Bajir-Controllers held me down, the third retrieved the hostless Yeerk and slowly bought him to my tilted head…

I yelled and screamed in protest, hoping someone would prevent me from being infested by this vile parasitic creature…

* * *

**Alloran**

For years as the slave to Esplin 9466, I had longed for the opportunity to use the morphs he made me acquire against his fellow evil Yeerks. Now, finally, my wish was granted. I was on a winning streak in my skirmishes with the Controllers, and I didn't feel like stopping anytime soon.

Currently, I was having a field day in my eight-headed, fire-shooting Octiggarr morph, blasting Controllers all around me. I now felt about as giddy as a foal a fraction of my own age. The Andalites, humans and Kelbrid I fought alongside were all shocked by this bizarre morph at first, but they were soon glad enough to have me on their side.

However, it was after half my heads in this morph were blasted off by multiple Dracon beams did I decide to demorph. The Octiggarr can live with only one head, should the other seven be destroyed, but after that last head is also destroyed, well, that's it.

Just as I was finished demorphing, I noticed a few Hork-Bajir-Controllers trying to hold down a Kelbrid warrior – whom I recognized as _Karmaad_ Vegren.

It only took me a split-second to figure out what it was they were trying to do.

As if my mind was focused on nothing else, I charged over to them in my Andalite body, determined to put a stop to their sinister plans. I knew full well the horrors and shame of being the first-ever Andalite-Controller, and I certainly wasn't about to let Vegren become the first ever Kelbrid-Controller…!

The two Hork-Bajir-Controllers holding Vegren down I instantly dispatched with my tail blade – FWAP! FWAP! – and kicked the Controller holding the Yeerk back with my front hooves before slashing him horizontally across the chest. I would have done more to that third Hork-Bajir-Controller, but with the small group of Taxxons nearby, it was unnecessary.

As for the Yeerk that was attempting to infest this Kelbrid warrior, it slipped down along the Vegren's feathers and armor and into his claw-like hand. Vegren allowed himself a moment to glare at the Yeerk with disgust before dispatching it. With a toss into the air and a flash of a Kelbrid hand, the Yeerk went up into the air, still in one piece, and fell back to the ground in shreds.

"Thank you," Vegren said – in his own language, of course, but the translator chip implanted in my head understood. As he retrieved his bladed Kelbrid weapon, I told him, (It was what had to be done, _Karmaad_ Vegren, really.)

As a swarm of human-Controllers carrying both Dracon beams and various other human weapons advanced on us, we got back to fighting.

An Earth half-hour later, the pitiful number of surviving Controllers retreated, and we were left with the clean-up and investigation.

While the humans were happy that they had fought alongside us and won, they were also a bit dismayed that it was only the second day of talks and meetings with their Kelbrid guests, and already someone attacked them. Fortunately, though, the Kelbrid were not the slightest bit unhappy or disappointed with what had transpired. In fact, I think they enjoyed the fighting.

As the sun set and the air cooled that evening, all the military personnel from all three species had gathered to hear some unsettling news.

"It turns out that the attack on the summit… was just a distraction," a human intelligence officer said, looking exasperated. "While they did manage to cause plenty of chaos here, it was just to keep us busy."

(I was wondering about that, especially after our chase of that single Skrit Na raider turned out to be pointless,) Prince Aximili said.

"While most of those Yeerk and Skrit Na forces attacked here, some more Skrit Na raiders, escorted by some Bug fighters, went to a certain prison facility in Kansas. _The_ prison facility."

A touch of dread began to creep up my spine as I began to make the connection…

"What are you saying?" Vegren asked with a small touch of impatience.

Composing himself, the officer finally broke the news. "They broke Visser One out of prison."

Collective gasps and murmurs all broke out at once; the humans, along with my fellow Andalites, all hated that Yeerk named Esplin 9466. I felt a wave of hatred and revulsion wash over me. Esplin… The Visser… now loose…

People were shouting, muttering, whispering, all at once, trying to figure out what to do, _what to do_…

(Well, obviously, someone is going to have to try and find him,) Galuit said after most of the talking died down. (In the meantime, though, we should probably keep the talks and meetings going.)

"Well, if you don't need me, I could chase after him…" Jake suggested.

"You're not going anywhere, Berenson," a human general barked. "You're needed here."

As arguments began again as to who should go after him and who should stay here to make sure things ran smoothly, I sighed and finally spoke up.

(I'll go search for him.)

Everyone stopped right in their arguing and turned to look at me.

(I'll go. He was my captor for more than twenty years. I know how he thinks, I know how he works, and I know how he acts. If anyone were to predict where he would go or what he would do, that person would probably be me.)

There was a general sound of agreement to this. For the time being, however, I would probably have to stay here with everyone else while we got things straightened out.

Off to one side, I heard Jake and Aximili talking. (You know, Jake… While I still respect you for all the times I served you as though you were my prince, I'm starting to think I should have just killed Visser One back then. Not only would I have avenged my brother's death, but that would have been the end of him.)

Jake gave a sigh. "I know, Ax. In fact, I'm starting to think the same thing…"

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: Uh-oh! The Animorphs' arch-rival has just been broken out of jail? You just _know_ this can't be good… _(And just _what _is the deal with Tobias, anyway?)_

Note about this "Octiggarr" morph: As plenty of you will probably recall, this was the unnamed monstrosity which Visser Three morphed back in _The Invasion_, which "had a thing for the number eight." The "octi" in the name I obviously got from _octo_, the Latin word for the number "eight," and I just thought that "ggarr" sounded fearsome.

Next chapter is where we see precisely where the former Visser One has been taken… _–Quillian_

* * *

**_ABOUT THE ALTERED QUOTE..._**

Just in case you still haven't figured it out. Anyway, think back to the shouting match between Aximili and Lirem in chapter 6. Aximili says, _"Do not meddle in the affairs of humans, for they are subtle and quick to anger."_ The original quote from LotR was, _"Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger."_ So, there you go!

* * *


	10. CHAPTER 10

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Here, I set the stage for future stories, showing the old villain in a new form – so to speak…

Also, I have _The Transformers: The Movie_ on DVD, and this was kind of inspired by that scene where Megatron and Unicron first meet. In fact, I guess this chapter can be considered a sort of tribute to that scene. _(Imagines The One with a voice like Orson Welles.)_ Hmmm… :-)

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to **Sinister Shadow**, for being such a loyal and enthusiastic reviewer!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 10**

**Esplin**** 9466**

My name is Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six.

I am a Yeerk, and for the majority of my career, I was Visser Three. Before the Yeerk Empire's humiliating defeat at that planet called Earth, I had even ascended to the rank of Visser One.

And then I ended up in a maximum security prison facility, built just for me by Earth's numerous inhabits.

_Humans…_

Damn them. Damn the Animorphs, damn Elfangor, damn Aximili, damn Alloran too… damn just about everyone the Yeerk Empire has ever fought with, come to think of it.

I've been fighting and slaughtering those hypocritical, arrogant Andalites for years and years, only to get bedeviled in the end by some young Gedd look-alikes? How ultimately humiliating. Filthy, crazy humans. Good as hosts, sure, but probably not to be best left on their own.

And now, _someone_ – or maybe even _something_ – had broken me out of my own private prison.

Hm, so maybe someone in the galaxy still does like me after all. Rather surprising, I must admit, since I was not exactly known for being a popular Yeerk warlord. Better to be feared than loved, after all.

Here I was, swimming in a small tank under a portable Kandrona, and all of a sudden, a neural probe jabbed me, and I was connected to something larger…

**(ESPLIN 9466?)**

The awesome thought-speak voice seemed to resonate among every atom, every molecule of my being.

(Yes?)

**(WELCOME, ESPLIN.)**

(Who… who is that?)

**_(I_ AM WHAT MY FOLLOWERS CALL "THE ****ONE****"… BUT, FOR ****NOW****, YOU ****MAY**** CALL ME _SETHEON_.)**

("The One")? I repeated with what I hoped sounded like innocent curiosity.

An image filled my head: I could "see" a private sanctum of steel and other precious metals, at the center of which was a floating column of what looked like liquid light, and in its presence was me, in the tank.

**(I AM A BEING WITH MORE POWER THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE, ESPLIN,) **The One – sorry, _Setheon_ – said as the image faded.**(YOU ARE A YEERK TO BE FEARED, WITH MUCH POTENTIAL… PERHAPS MUCH MORE THAN YOU EVEN REALIZE. I HAVE MY REASONS FOR SENDING MY AGENTS TO BREAK YOU OUT OF THAT PRISON FACILITY ON EARTH.)**

(Well then, state your business,) I said, doing my best not to appear as a coward.

**(MY COMMAND IS FOR YOU TO SUBJUGATE EARTH, ****AND**** LEAVE IT ****RIPE**** FOR THE TAKING. SURELY YOU HAVE ENOUGH EXPERIENCE FROM WHEN YOU WERE A VISSER FOR THE LATE YEERK EMPIRE?)**

(Of course I do,) I replied evenly.

**(TELL ME, ESPLIN – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ANIMORPHS ****AND**** THEIR ANDALITE ALLIES?)**

Hatred surged through me. (Damn them all, those dirty morping _dapsen_!)

**(JUST**** AS I HAD HOPED,) **Setheon said with a trace of amusement in his voice. **(KNOWING YOU WOULD NOT REFUSE THE CHANCE FOR REVENGE, I PURPOSELY SELECTED YOU FOR THIS TASK. REVENGE, AMONG OTHER THINGS, IS SUCH A GOOD MOTIVATOR AFTER ALL.)**

(I am honored,) I said, "kissing up" to him, as humans would say. But then a thought occurred to me. (However… there is one small problem… I no longer have that Andalite as a host, and thus, no morphing power.)

**(VERY OBSERVANT, ESPLIN.**** TRUST ME WHEN I SAY THAT I AM NO FOOL. I HAVE FOUND ****A WAY**** AROUND THAT LITTLE PROBLEM.)**

(I am listening,) I replied, with full, undivided attention.

**(FOR ****ALL**** THOSE YEARS YOU HAD THAT ANDALITE ALLORAN AS A ****HOST****, WHENEVER YOU MADE HIM MORPH, YOUR YEERK BODY MORPHED ALONG WITH HIS ANDALITE BODY. OVER TIME, YOU BEGAN TO ABSORB ****ALL**** THE STRANDS OF ****DNA**** FROM DIFFERENT MORPHS INTO YOUR OWN YEERK BODY. YOU MUST REALIZE, ESPLIN, THAT THIS A VERY UNIQUE CASE.)**

(Interesting, Setheon, but I still cannot morph in my own Yeerk body.)

**(TRUE****, ESPLIN, BUT ALLOW ME TO FINISH. IT IS POSSIBLE FOR A BEING TO HAVE THE POWER TO MORPH, YET NOT HAVE ANY FOREIGN ****DNA ****AND**** THUS NO MORPHS. YOU ****ARE**** THE CONVERSE OF THAT, ESPLIN: ****ALL**** THE DIFFERENT MORPHS, BUT NOT THE POWER TO UTILIZE THEM.)**

(Intriguing,) I said with complete honesty.

**(IF YOU PLEDGE YOUR LOYALTY TO ME, ESPLIN, I WILL RESTORE YOUR POWER TO MORPH, ****AND**** EVEN GIVE YOU A, SHALL WE SAY, _SPECIAL_ KIND OF ANDALITE MORPH. YOU WILL HAVE THE POWER, THE TROOPS ****AND**** THE RESOURCES TO WAGE SUFFICIENT WAR ON EARTH, ****AND**** THAT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. THERE ****ARE**** PLENTY OF RACES IN THE GALAXY THAT HATE YOU ****ONE**** WAY OR ANOTHER, ESPLIN – HUMANS, ANDALITES, HORK-BAJIR, TAXXONS, LEERANS, ONGACHICS, HAWJABRANS, ARN, ANATI, KELBRID, ****AND**** EVEN SOME OF YOUR OWN FELLOW YEERKS. I AM OFFERING YOU THE CHANCE TO CONQUER THEM _ALL_.)**

Oh, I liked the sound of that. Unfortunately, I nearly blew it all by shooting my palps off.

("Pledge my loyalty to you"?) I repeated incredulously. (Listen, I do not know that which you have promised to the followers of this little cult you have started, but I am not one of them!)

Me and my big palps...

From Setheon, I could feel a small wave of… disappointment? (**THEN PERHAPS I HAVE MISJUDGED YOU, ESPLIN 9466.)**I felt a small tremor underneath the tank which I was situated in, and then Setheon added, **(IF THAT IS HOW YOU FEEL, THEN YOU MAY DEPART FROM THIS UNIVERSE AND ENTER OBLIVION.)**

The water I was in started getting hotter and hotter – I was being boiled alive!

_(Argh_ No! Wait, _wait!_ I accept your offer! I accept it! _Ergh__…!)_

I felt the boiling cease and the water being cooled back down, and a wave of relief seemed to wash over me. My pleading for mercy had worked after all.

**(THAT'S BETTER,) **said Setheon with a hint of smug satisfaction.

The probe retracted from my head and a robotic claw not-so-gently lifted me from the small tank. It moved me through the air onto what felt like a metal plate, with a think layer of water upon it.

**(MY AGENTS HAVE MANAGED TO RETRIEVE THE KELBRID DEVICE WHICH ****HAS**** THE PURPOSE OF RESTORING _NOTHLITS_ TO THEIR PROPER ****FORM****, UNDOING THE PERMANENT CONDITION AS THOUGH IT NEVER HAPPENED. FOR THE TIME DURING WHICH WE STILL HAD IT, WE ALSO OBSERVED ****AND**** EXPERIMENTED WITH THE _ESCAFIL_ DEVICE WHICH WAS LOST WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BLADE SHIP. THE KELBRID DEVICE ****HAS**** BEEN REVERSE ENGINEERED, ****AND**** IT SHOULD ****NOW**** BE ****ABLE**** TO GRANT YOU THE POWER TO MORPH. YOUR ****TRUE**** YEERK ****FORM**** SHOULD BE YOUR BASE ****FORM****. SINCE THAT ANDALITE WAS YOUR ****HOST**** FOR ****ALL**** THOSE YEARS, YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ****ABLE**** TO MORPH HIM AS ****WELL****, WHICH ****JUST ****MAY**** HAVE ITS ADVANTAGES.)**

Setheon had barely finished his thought-speech when I felt a ray hit me. I trembled and shuddered for a moment or so when I felt it stop.

**(IT IS DONE.)**

Instinctively, I tried morphing Alloran.

I will not go through describing the entire process, so I will explain it quite simply as this: Main eyes developed from my palps, stalk eyes grew from my head, my flukes grew into arms and legs, and my tail grew long and developed that wicked scythe.

When I was done, I looked to where Setheon had situated himself between power nodes on the ceiling and floor, and just somehow _knew_ that he was focusing on me, even though I could see any sort of eyes or other optical devices.

(It works.) Deciding to opt for the better part of valor, I bowed and added, (Thank you, Master Setheon.)

**("MASTER SETHEON," HMM?**** I RATHER LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT, ACTUALLY,) **Setheon said with a chuckle, and here I could see his liquid-like form reverberate from his speaking. (**NOW****, ESPLIN, DEMORPH ****AND**** I SHALL GRANT YOU THE "SPECIAL" MORPH.)**

I did as I was told, careful to make sure that I landed back in the wet plate. I felt some soft yet solid object gently touch my palps, and catching on, I focused and acquired it. A moment later, I morphed into this "special" morph which I had been promised.

At first, I thought it was yet another Andalite morph, but then I looked in a reflective surface which had been set up for me… oh, I certainly liked the differences. I thought that Alloran's strong and sturdy Andalite body was the best I could get, but this was so much better…

Then, subconsciously, without even _thinking_ about it, I went straight from the "special" morph to my normal Andalite morph.

It was only a moment later when I realized what I had done.

Even the great Setheon himself was at a loss for words, or so it seemed. Experimenting further, I morphed human – straight from that other morph.

**(WELL,)** Setheon said, finding his voice at last, **(IT SEEMS THERE HAS ALSO BEEN AN UNEXPECTED BENEFIT FROM ALL THIS TAMPERING. YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT FROM ONE MORPH TO ANOTHER NOW, INSTEAD OF GOING THROUGH YOUR BASE MORPH FIRST. HOWEVER, I WOULD NOT KNOW ABOUT WHICH FORM TO ACQUIRE IN. AND AS FOR THE CRITICAL TWO-HOUR TIME LIMIT… WELL, I WOULDN'T RISK THAT, EITHER. IF THE TIME LIMIT IS STILL IN PLACE AND YOU WERE TO ACCIDENTALLY GO OVER IT, I WOULD BE ABLE TO UNDO THAT, BUT STILL, I WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE YOU COMING BACK HERE TO HAVE IT UNDONE EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED.)**

(It is marvelous indeed,) I said in my cold, chilling new thought-speech voice after I returned to my new "special" morph. Bowing once again, I declared, (I am deeply grateful and thankful to you, Master Setheon.)

**(INDEED, _LORD_ ESPLIN.)** Here, I nearly nicked myself with my wicked new tail blade at my new title. **(YOU SHALL LEAD MY FORCES IN THE FUTURE, JUST AS YOU WERE A VISSER TO THE LATE YEERK EMPIRE. BUT, FOR NOW, I HAVE ONE SMALL TASK FOR YOU TO START WITH.)**

(Whatever you wish, Master Setheon.)

**(GO TO EARTH. ATTACK THE UNITED FORCES OF HUMANS, ANDALITES ****AND**** KELBRID AT THEIR UPCOMING ****SUMMIT, WHICH WAS PREVIOUSLY DISRUPTED WHEN I HAD YOU BROKEN OUT****. CAUSE SOME CHAOS, RAISE HELL, GIVE THEM TROUBLE. PERHAPS TAKE OUT THEIR CHAMPIONS, ****TOO****, IF YOU CAN.)**

(Yes, my Master.)

A portal opened between two arches of this room, this inner sanctum for The One. **(YOUR SHIP AWAITS YOU, LORD ESPLIN. NOW GO… AND MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE DEALING WITH!)**

(Yes, I will,Master Setheon.)

Here, I must comment on how I was tired repeating this over and over again, as though I was but an Earth dog performing some fancy tricks for its human master. Actually, I felt more like that human science fiction character – what was his name? – oh yes, Darth Vader. What a terrible thought _that_ was.

As I strode boldly down that shining metal hallway, I could feel my old power returning. I, the last Yeerk to hold the rank of Visser One in the name of the Yeerk Empire, was now Lord Esplin, servant of Setheon, The One Who Is All. It was almost as though it was written in the galaxy's stars for all sentient people to see:

_I was back._

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: Personally, I liked this chapter, what with all the evil stuff going on.

Also, there is one thing which I think I should explain right now. "The Progression" has two purposes: To show what has been happening since the end of the canon series for some characters not mentioned in the final book, and to set the stage for the sequels after this one.

Note about Esplin's "special" new morph: You'll find out about it next chapter, _wink wink_!

Note about the Darth Vader comment: Anyone else reminded of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader? o.O

Next chapter is where big bad Esplin shows up and Earth and shows off his brand-new "special" morph, while some explanations are in order as to Tobias' new Andalite morph and other things… _–Quillian_


	11. CHAPTER 11

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Okay, hopefully some things should be explained here…

**IMPORTANT NOTE!** This is the last chapter I'm producing before I go back to college. I imagine my college schedule will be quite busy when I go back, so I don't know when I'll be able to update next!

* * *

**CHAPTER 11**

**Tobias**

I was cured.

I was no longer a so-called _"nothlit"_ in a hawk's body. I was now a human again, with the power to morph. Not only that, but I now had my own unique Andalite morph, not just one that looked like Ax.

In case you haven't already guessed, I got help from someone in a very high place…

Yup, you guessed it: The Ellimist.

So, now, the next day right after the attack, I was back in my human form, trying to explain to Jake, Marco, Cassie, Ax, even Toby what had happened…

* * *

_I was in mid-dive, heading into the __Grand Canyon__, when time suddenly froze. Not only that, but now I was suddenly back in my human body._

_It took me only a split-second to realize what was going on._

_With a sigh, I said, "Okay, Ellimist, I know you're there. Go ahead and show yourself."_

_He appeared behind me, floating in midair as though standing on some invisible surface. He was in his "old-man look," which made one think of a cross between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda._

_"Hello, Tobias," he told me. "It's been a while… well, for you, anyway."_

_"Yeah, hi again, but I know you never come by to make small talk. So… what is it this time?"_

_The Ellimist gave a sigh, as though he were the bearer of bad news. "The Yeerk War… which you and your friends won… was supposed to be the final game between myself and Crayak. However, not only is Crayak restless, but he is also a sore loser, as you might imagine."_

_Yeah, I could definitely see Crayak throwing a fit over not winning. The Ellimist continued: "However, Crayak has proposed a new game, one to bring finality between myself and him. In other words, a new conflict."_

_"Great," I muttered. "Well, I know not to shoot the messenger… and let's face it, if I was to shoot you with anything, it wouldn't do anything. So, what else is there to tell me?"_

_"You undoubtedly remember, Tobias, how I gave you the power to morph but made your hawk body your base form. Here, I give you the opportunity to become human again with the power to morph, as though you never became a _nothlit_ in the first place."_

_"And why would I want to do that?" I said evenly. "I've had my fling with humanity. I'm happier as a hawk."_

_"I know, Tobias, I know. However, you still play a crucial part in what is to come."_

_"So? I'll be sure to be there. I have my friends – my uncle – to be with."_

_"Not if you die first, Tobias."_

_A jolt ran through my system as I heard those words. "What do you mean by that?" I demanded angrily._

_"Tell me, Tobias, how have you been feeling since you returned from your rescue mission?"_

_I felt a chill run up my spine. I knew what he was referring to…_

_"Not only has your hawk body been getting old, but it has been ill from being in space so long."_

_"So? I knew the risks I was taking when I accepted your offer. I wanted to live as a hawk, and if I have to, then I'll die as one. I tried being like any other human – even as an Animorph – and I was miserable. I can't go back."_

_Here the Ellimist began to chuckle, and soon enough, he was laughing – not cruelly, of course, but with mirth in his voice. "Tobias, you're so much like your father, the warrior Elfangor. He said just about the same thing when I approached him years ago with the choice to return to where he belonged in the Andalite military."_

_Here, I made no comment, but felt a little proud with the mention to my father._

_The time for laughing now long gone, the Ellimist was serious again. "Everything hangs in the balance, Tobias. If you accept my offer, you will become a human again, with the power to morph, and you will still keep all the morphs you have ever acquired, whether as when you were a human or a hawk. But, if you refuse… you will surely die before you can ever be of any help in this new conflict."_

_I sighed. "And once again, you've posed a proposition which just can't be refused."_

_The Ellimist gave a sage-like smile. "Oh, and one other thing, Tobias. I will grant you a _special _morph. Your own unique Andalite morph, not just a copy of how your shorm Aximili looks. I daresay it looks how you might look today if you were born an Andalite."_

_I eyed him for a moment. "This is certainly a lot you're offering me, here. I'm guessing there's a catch."_

_The Ellimist replaced his smile with a solemn look – a sort of worried look you may never expect to see on such a seemingly invincible being. "I am not allowed to explain the rules or details of the game, Tobias – but you should know full well by now that whenever Crayak is involved, there is _always_ a catch. And for allowing me to do something of this magnitude, I have allowed Crayak to do something else which he desires to do. All I can do is wish you good luck when you find out for yourself exactly what that was which I have allowed him, if you accept my offer."_

_It took me only a moment to decide._

_"I accept, Ellimist."_

_The Ellimist smiled again, and said, "You chose wisely, Tobias."_

_I felt a surge of – for want of a better word – _power_ go through me, and after it had gone, the Ellimist told me, "Try and morph an Andalite now, Tobias, and see what happens."_

_I did just that, and I could tell right away that this wasn't Ax's body. I looked in a reflective surface which the Ellimist had conjured up for me, and I saw the differences. I indeed looked somewhat like my father Elfangor, but more as though his features were only part of the package._

_(It is wonderful,) I said at last. (Thank you.)_

_"You're quite welcome, Tobias. Anyway, I must be off, and you still have that Skrit Na raider to chase down. Farewell, Tobias, and good luck."_

_As he vanished from this plane of existence, I went back to the console in my new Andalite body…_

_…and the chase was resumed._

* * *

All five of them managed to have the same expressions of shock and concern on their faces, whether they were human, Andalite or Hork-Bajir. 

Now, since I was back among human society, I had to set some things in order. Marco had graciously offered me a place at his home until I could find one of my own, I got some new clothes of my own that would fit me, and I had sorts of paperwork to go through, since I was now nineteen years old and no longer a minor.

Oh, that and the fact the government wanted to keep a closer eye on me than I felt was necessary. Oh joy.

It was now a few days after the attack, and we were once again in a meeting between military officers from all over Earth, plus those from the Andalite and Kelbrid militaries. Miraculously, not one of the three species had any casualties in the attack. Probably because the diversionary attack was launched by poorly trained idiots of Controllers, but hey, who was to complain?

For now, the buildings set up for talks and meetings had become a sort of unofficial military base. All of us – human, Andalite, and Kelbrid alike – were all heading back to our own places when it happened.

Somebody had just attacked us. _Again._

Instantly, we were all alert and ready to fight as a single Blade ship descended to the ground, flanked by a few Bug fighters. Hork-Bajir-Controllers and Taxxon-Controllers all exited the ships and waited for someone to come out. I couldn't help but get a strange sense of _déjà vu_ as the ship landed…

And then, as if this were some sick, twisted parody of the night we met Elfangor and everything changed, what looked to be an Andalite walked down the ramp.

(Humans, Andalites and Kelbrid,) this Andalite (or Andalite-Controller?) said in a mocking sneer as he descended the ramp. He said it in Alloran's voice, and this evil newcomer even looked like Alloran's twin. Looking into the crowd, I could see the actual Alloran-Semitur-Corrass, and looking back I saw this other "Andalite."

Seeing the real Alloran in the crowd, this intruder said mockingly, (Hello, Alloran, it's been a while. Have you been doing well in the past few years without me controlling your every move?)

Everyone turned to see Alloran, looking incredibly shocked and disgusted. (You vile filth… but how…?)

Then everyone figured it out. This was Esplin 9466, Visser One, the former Visser Three. The one Yeerk whom everyone had come to know and hate with a passion.

They may have looked identical, sounded exactly the same… but it was their body language and how they acted in which I saw a world of difference. The true Alloran was looking stupefied and at a loss for words, while this imposter simply oozed evil and malevolence like radiation from a leaking reactor.

(For your information, it's now _Lord_ Esplin to you,) our long-time enemy said as he leisurely trotted up to us at a sedate pace. (So says my new superior, Setheon – the entity you may know as The One.)

Now looking and sounding incredibly smug, "Lord" Esplin continued. (Now, you're probably all wondering why I am walking around it what seems to be an Andalite body. I don't quite understand the scientific principles behind it myself, but I know this: From all the years I had Alloran as a host, my Yeerk body would morph along with his Andalite body, and over time, my Yeerk body began to absorb the DNA from all those various morphs. So, in a way, I had the morphs, yet not the power itself to morph. However, Setheon changed all that. There are even some beneficial side effects from all this, such as me being able to "morph" Alloran.)

As you can imagine, none of us liked hearing this bad news. However, Visser One – sorry, _Lord Esplin_ – was enjoying every moment of this.

Esplin was just about to speak again when suddenly Alloran charged forth, shooting an Andalite shredder many times at his former slaver.

However, with his "Andalite" reflexes, Esplin dodged all the shots, sliced the shredder in two with his tail blade, and brought his tail blade up to Alloran's throat. (You sly beast! You almost had me there!) Esplin said with a cruel laugh. (However, the best is yet to come…)

And with that, he began to change.

Esplin's "Andalite" morph grew about a foot. His metallic blue and tan fur became a jet black, with blood-red highlights among the spaces in between his muscles. There was now some more muscle on him, and his weaker Andalite arms seemed to become stronger. His tail was now slightly longer, and the tail blade looked like some wicked scythe now at least three feet along, which probably could have cut an Andalite in half at the waist. The hair on the end of the tail was now fiery-red. His shiny black hooves now had ridges underneath them, making them look like cleats. And his eyes… I cannot begin to describe how horrible they were. Even though it was a sunny day in the desert, they were a sort of intense fiery red which probably could have glowed in the dark.

If this foul Yeerk warlord didn't look evil before in Alloran's appearance, then he certainly did now. He looked like some hellish monster, reinforced by years of experience in fighting and torture. Esplin almost seemed to personify all that was evil and foul in the universe.

Alloran had backed up quite a bit when the morphing process began, and now he was several feet back as Esplin finished morphing.

(This truly is a morph to die for,) Esplin said in a thought-speech voice that seemed to chill and terrify. (But please, don't just take _my_ word for it – why don't you see for yourself!)

With that, he charged at Alloran, galloping so fiercely that it sounded like a whole heard of buffalo stomping through. Alloran attempted to strike Esplin at some weak point, but Esplin knocked his tail blade aside first with his own, and then kicked Alloran with his front hooves, knocking the Andalite war-prince off his hooves and sending him a few feet back. As Alloran staggered to get back up, I could see painful imprints on his chest from where he was kicked.

Everyone else stood back, not wanting to get involved. However, I had plans of my own. I began to morph myself…

(Oh, and by the way,) Esplin added as an afterthought as he trotted over to the injured and wheezing Alloran, (The strangest things happen when I morph. I don't even need to pass through my base form – my Yeerk body – in order to morph something else. I really don't know why that is, but I'm certainly not complaining about it.) As Esplin raised his wicked new tail blade high, he said, (You've long since outlived your usefulness. Good-bye, you filthy Andalite.)

And then his tail-blade came down… severed from his tail.

(WHAT?) he thundered, and then he turned to see who had injured him so.

I stood there, in my new Andalite morph. (You're not the only one with new surprises, you filthy piece of pond scum, I said,) striking at him yet again.

FWAP! I slashed diagonally across his chest.

FWAP! One of his arms fell to the ground.

FWAP! There went both his stalks…

And suddenly, he counterattacked with his remaining arm. With a strong hook, he punched me right in the chest. I collapsed backwards, gasping for air through my Andalite nose. However, I could feel injured bones, and I knew it would probably be smart for me to demorph…

As I demorphed, Esplin partially morphed back to his "normal" Andalite morph, and then reverted back to his new evil form.

(Good as new,) he commented as he finished, his body now healed. (So, Tobias, son of Elfangor, do you have any last words?) he asked maliciously as I lay at his hooves on the hot desert sand.

Before I could respond, however, there was the sound of gunfire. With lightning-fast reflexes, Esplin used his tail blade to defect the bullets which would have hit him, while a few sailed harmlessly by. Alloran and I both scrambled away as Esplin was kept busy.

Esplin galloped back to his Blade ship, and his four Bug fighters rose into the air, aiming at my friends and allies back in the crowd to make sure that they didn't shoot Esplin or his ship. But before they could fire at us, shots came out of the sky, disintegrating all four of the fighters.

A whole squadron of Andalite fighters came in blazing, and they were about to fire at the Blade ship next, but it had already gotten away. As it flew up into the atmosphere, at least two dozen or so Bug fighters came down, blocking the Andalite fighters from pursuing the Blade ship.

The Bug fighters engaged the Andalite fighters as the rest of us on the ground ran to safety. I morphed a hawk and Alloran morphed a _kafit_ bird, and we both took off, trying to get away.

Most of the Andalite fighters were destroyed and the Bug fighters started coming for us when another unexpected thing happened.

Laser beams fired down from the sky. They were followed by alien fighters – but definitely not any sort of Andalite or Kelbrid fighters.

They looked like eggs of some dark yellow color, facing forward, and with four long spears placed at equal increments around the ship's vertical axis, so that if you saw one from the front, you would see their tips in a sort of "X" formation. On the back of the fighters were two engines which had the rough shape of webbed feet.

As I flew to safety, I just kept wondering to myself, _Who__ in the galaxy were these guys?_

The Bug fighters were being chewed up and dropping like flies (no pun intended), and these strange new fighters hovered protectively over us, should anyone else try to attack us.

However, one last Bug fighter made a dive, trying to kill me with its Dracon beams…

…Only to get blasted apart from one of these unfamiliar alien fighters as it rolled and fired.

I flew near one of these strange new fighters, but couldn't see anything through its reflective golden surface that acted as a viewport.

_Greetings, Tobias the Animorph._

I heard the strange and foreign thought-speech in my head. (Who are you?) I asked.

_I am a Leeran._

My memory clicked as I remembered these aliens, these "psychic frogs," as Marco called them. I and the other Animorphs had been transported by accident into Z-space that one day when we morphed mosquitoes, and we ended up on their home world, Leera. However, I was the first to "snap back" to Earth, and was never able to acquire a Leeran. I had heard all about the Leerans and their underwater communities from the others, once we were all back, safe and sound.

(Nice to meet you,) I said back to this alien who just saved my life. (Thanks for saving my life.)

_You are welcome, Tobias,_ the Leeran spoke back, from somewhere inside his fighter. _We Leerans essentially owe you and your friends a debt for helping to save our home world from the evil Yeerk Empire. We wish to discuss things with your human friends and your Andalite allies, but now is not the time or place, since Esplin 9466 has caused even more problems for all of you and we would not survive long in this desert environment. Farewell for now!_

And with that, he and his fellow Leerans took off.

I flew back to where everyone else had gathered for their own safety, where we all discussed even more new developments, between potential new allies… and a deadly old enemy.

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: So, what do you guys think, between the Ellimist's new deal with Tobias and Esplin's new "special" morph? _(Also, the amazing artistic genius otherwise known as **Edriss** has illustrated Esplin's new morph for me. Be sure to check it out! If you want, I can send it to you so you can see for yourself!)_

Also, sorry if this chapter seems rushed. My brain felt as though it was shutting down as I wrote this. Maybe I just needed a nap or something…

Note about the details of Ellimist's and Crayak's deals: I somehow imagine that in their games, Ellimist and Crayak make deals, allowing the other something to use for something else in return. For example, maybe Crayak will allow the Ellimist to protect an entire planet and its sentient species if Ellimist allows Crayak to have total and complete control over another entire planet and its own sentient species.

Note about the Leerans in this story: I don't think the Leerans in the _Animorphs_ series were as advanced as Andalites were, or even as we humans were, because there's no indication that that's true. So, as for where they got all the spaceships from… I'll explain that next chapter, so don't worry.

Next chapter is where the Leerans come into their picture, with startling new allies which no one ever expected them to have… _–__Quillian__…_

* * *

**_HOLY KANDRONA!_** You know what I just realized? 

Look at the four Chronicles in the Animorphs series: _The Andalite Chronicles_, _The Hork-Bajir Chronicles_, _Visser_, and _The Ellimist Chronicles_. Apart from the fact that they're all backstories, they all have this one thing in common: The narrator (or at least one of them) interbreeding with another species. Consider…

_The Andalite Chronicles:_ Elfangor becomes a _nothlit_ in human morph and settles down with Loren.  
_The Hork-Bajir Chronicles:_ Aldrea becomes trapped in a Hork-Bajir body and settles down with Dak Hamee.  
_Visser_ This case is slightly different… With Edriss controlling Allison and Essam controlling Hildy, they have twins, Darwin and Madra. Not exactly "interbreeding," but still a rather unique case…  
_The Ellimist Chronicles:_ The Ellimist lives among ancient Andalites for a short time and even sires some Andalite children.

Anyone else ever notice this before?

_(Oh yeah, and thanks to **Edriss** for allowing me to use the "Holy Kandrona!" line!)_

* * *


	12. CHAPTER 12

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Now is the time for even more explanations, as we now see something from Cassie's POV!

**IMPORTANT NOTICE!** I'm now back at college, and with the exception of my copy of _The Ellimist Chronicles_, all my _Animorphs_ books are back at home, so please forgive me if I make any errors! Also, I'll try to update this at least once a week, but no promises there.

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to **Gryphinwyrm7**, for his loyal reading and enthusiastic reviews, not to mention his constructive and thought-invoking questions as well! Be sure to check out his AU _Animorphs_ series crossover with _Stargate SG-1_, "The Animorph Chronicles," as well as its future sequels!_

_This chapter is also dedicated to **Wavecrest**, for allowing me to use her writer name as that of a Leeran ship! Take a look at her Animorphs series of fanfics, "Transformers"!_

_A dedication for this chapter also goes out to **Myitt**, since her stories about peaceful Yeerks have also been favorites of mine!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 12**

**Cassie**

It took yet another week to put things back together, during which time the Andalites and Kelbrid hastily finished the talks and meetings with us humans as we had all originally planned.

The day after the Leerans helped us drive back "Lord Esplin" and his forces, we had an impromptu meeting with the Leerans. We met on ships out on the ocean, where their spacecraft touched down; it seemed their spaceships also worked well for moving through or on water. A somewhat egg-shaped ship in various tones of yellow and other warm colors splashed down and sailed up to the carrier we were on, a ship which the Leerans called the _Wavecrest_.

However, before we could start these talks with the Leerans, the President had to address the nation and say what was happening…

* * *

_"My fellow Americans. It has long been the duty of this great office to make public those developments which may affect our nation's fate. I regret to inform you that such a development took place this past week. Furthermore, the consequences of such events may not affect only the American people, but all the people of the planet Earth._

_"During only the second day of the summit with the Kelbrid ambassador, an attack took place, led by combined Yeerk and Skrit Na forces, believed to be the only remnants of the Yeerk Empire. The attack on the summit was only a diversion, while a small task force headed for a special prison facility in Kansas, and consequently broke out a Yeerk named Esplin Nine-Four-Double-Six – otherwise known as Visser One._

_"Our intelligence confirms that he now works for an evil entity named Setheon, who calls himself 'The One,' and has been granted the power to morph. Visser One, or as he now calls himself, 'Lord Esplin,' now works for Setheon. It should go without saying that regardless of whoever he works for or pledges his loyalty to these days, Esplin is a threat to _everyone_ – human or otherwise. Now, he is simply too powerful to be left alive and kept prisoner. Esplin 9466 is a Yeerk so evil he could probably contest with some of human history's most infamous people._

_"I will be meeting shortly with my fellow world leaders, as well as our Andalite allies, to discuss this crisis and decide upon how we shall appropriately handle this situation._

_"In the meantime, I would like to issue a request for calm and hope that you might join me in a prayer that our predicament is not as terrible as it seems…_

* * *

Of course, fear was the first reaction, followed by hope, and then determination. After all, the human race had, technically, driven off an entire alien race before. Surely it could do it again? Besides, the first time, it was just a group of human teenagers – also with the help of a young Andalite warrior, and help from various pockets of resistance from other alien races. Now, the whole human race was aware of the threat, which was certainly an advantage. 

In the meantime, we welcomed the Leerans into our circle as we were finally able to finish our talks with the Kelbrid, albeit under more discrete circumstances than how we had started them.

There was some apprehension, mostly among the Andalites, about involving the Leerans in all this because of their telepathic abilities. However, the Leerans told us that with some practice, they were able to train their minds to "turn off" the ability to hear thoughts from other creatures, especially those that weren't Leerans. Just like how a human can open or close his or her eyes, the Leerans could accept or refuse hearing the thoughts from other sentient beings. They themselves explained that while they had mouths to consume their food (underwater plants, if you must know), they evolved with no vocal cords, and so they instead developed thought-speech telepathy. They had just been so used to communicating among themselves that they didn't realize they could "turn off" the telepathy; especially since with little or no contact with other species who weren't telepathic, and so they had had little incentive to try and figure out ways to "turn off" their own telepathy.

Of course, the Andalites, and eventually the Kelbrid and us humans, were not entirely sure about this, but just as the Andalites had to take the Kelbrids' word about not having the morphing technology, we had no choice but to accept the Leerans' word that they wouldn't just hear all our thoughts which we didn't want to be known.

Both the humans and the Andalites were pleased that another species was willing to fight alongside us, in order to return the favor for when us Animorphs helped save their world from the Yeerks – and at the same time, my fellow humans were grateful to us Animorphs for making this so, and likewise, Ax's Andalite superiors were grateful to him.

However, it was some of the Leerans' friends which really shocked just about everyone.

What appeared to be a spindly robot walked up to us on four legs, with the narrow "torso" in the center. It had four mechanical arms, which ended in five-fingered robotic hands with one opposable thumb each, like human hands. It had what looked like a human head, with two glowing mechanical eyes where human eyes would be, a panel for a mouth, and two eyes on mechanical stalks, much like Andalite stalk eyes. This machine obviously had a thing for the number four. In fact, it made me thing of some strange cross between a human, an Andalite, a Leeran and a Chee.

"Hello," the robot said, in a somewhat electronic-sounding voice. "I am not a robot, as you might think, but am really an organic, sentient being, inside this machine. However, I ask that none of you be alarmed or angered by who or what I am."

And with that, the material which the head was made out of went from opaque to transparent, except for the face – Ramonite. Everyone then got a closer look at the inside of the head. It was filled with water that seemed a little dirty, but the real shock was seeing some living, slimy green thing wrapped around what was probably the CPU…

(Yeerk!) Galuit hissed. The other Andalites all tensed up and raised their tail-blades, while my fellow humans didn't look so happy either.

"Wait!" the Yeerk said from inside the "robot," if it could be called that. "I was part of the Peace Movement! I helped the Animorphs! My name is Illim 871…"

My head snapped up so fast I thought I nearly cricked my neck. "Illim?" I asked, somewhat shocked by this unexpected return from an old ally.

The robot turned to look at me, its eyes glowing a pleasant sort of green. "Long time, no see, Cassie," Illim said to me.

(Guards, get this Yeerk out of here!) Galuit demanded.

Before I even realized what was doing, I was standing protectively in between Illim and two approaching human guards.

"Don't do anything to him!" I said. "Illim helped us! He was on our side! He's probably as much a hero as anyone who's fought the Yeerk Empire!"

_She's right, Galuit,_ said one of the Leerans whom I assumed had more power and authority then his fellow Leerans. _We were able to sense this Yeerk's honesty and good intentions with our telepathy._

Galuit looked towards the Leeran leader uneasily. (Military Leader Shan Chib, you are one of the people I trust most, Andalite or otherwise, and it was a pleasure to fight the Yeerks with you on your home world, but –)

_But you absolutely refuse to work with any member of the species which is responsible for the deaths of your wife and children, I know,_ said the Leeran, whose name was apparently Shan Chib and was a Military Leader. _But much has changed since the Yeerk War ended years ago, and since you and your people have withdrawn from all fronts, Galuit. I know the effects of the Yeerk War have left their mark in this part of the galaxy, and it will be a long time before much of the hatred and animosity ebbs from the Yeerk Empire's former enemies, but there is another side to the story which you and everyone else from all our peoples must hear, learn and know. The Yeerk Empire was just a renegade, evil portion of the Yeerk race, governed by greedy and corrupt leaders. You cannot judge and condemn an entire race, based on the misdeeds of a few of its members._

There was an uneasy silence as the Andalites all considered this, but it was obvious to everyone present that they would much rather cut up Illim and his robot rather than listen to him, even for a second.

"I agree with everything this Leeran has said," I added, addressing the Andalites present, "and I will personally vouch for this Yeerk."

(Fine, but be quick,) Galuit finally said grudgingly.

_Perhaps I should let Illim explain._ With that, Shan Chib backed off, and Illim walked forward, the Ramonite becoming opaque again as he did so.

Pausing for only a moment, Illim began to explain.

* * *

**Illim**** 871**

"My name is Illim 871. I am a Yeerk. I am also a member of the former Peace Movement.

"I, like all Yeerks born and living under the rule of the Empire, was taught since I was a grub that my race was good, and others – namely our enemies – were evil. One thing I learned for myself and discovered time and again how one's own superiors can be biased towards their own causes. I think all people, regardless of race or species, like to consider themselves good and their enemies evil. The Yeerk Empire was certainly biased with what it taught its subordinates. I mean, they even ranked Andalites as lower than Gedds on their intelligence scale; if that isn't biased, then I don't know what is."

Here, a few humans stifled their laughter while the Andalites looked incensed at that. After it died down, I just continued talking.

"Even with these words, I cannot undo the damage caused by the Yeerk Empire or bring back everyone ever killed by it. I can't change the past, but I can try to help the future with the information I have to tell you.

"Even before I helped start the Peace Movement here on Earth, there have been other Yeerks who have been around since before the Council of Thirteen ordered the revolt on Prince Seerow and the other Andalites stationed on our home world, Yeerks who were about as noble and decent as they come. They knew the truth, and found the idea of enslaving other innocent and sentient species to be sickening and horrible. Just because they hypothetically _could_ infest and enslave other sentients, that didn't mean they wanted to.

"In dangerous times, wise people say nothing, and so that was their policy throughout the war. They couldn't tell the truth for fear of their own lives; the Council of Thirteen and its loyal underlings had visions of a Yeerk-controlled galaxy, and would have happily killed anyone who dared speak against it or question it, and they even gave those biased lessons to younger Yeerks born after the uprising, who didn't and wouldn't have known otherwise. I know human history has had its infamous leaders who acted much the same way, and for all I know, the Andalites, the Leerans and maybe even the Kelbrid have had their own infamous historical figures as well."

I purposely didn't name such infamous people, for the sake of trying not to offend any of the humans present. However, Hitler almost immediately came to mind as an example, followed by Stalin as a close second. Adam Tidwell had been my host long enough for me to know enough about human history and culture.

"Since the end of the Yeerk War, those Yeerks like myself have done our best to undo as much of the Empire's damage as we could after we narrowly escaped the defeat here at Earth. I don't think the Andalites have noticed because, understandably, they were all too happy to return to their home world and return to peacetime. Me and the other Yeerks in the movement needed to start _somewhere_ in order to fix as much as we could – but where could we start, and who would be willing to trust us?

"Then it occurred to us: _The Leerans._ With their telepathic abilities, they would be able to sense our honesty and good intentions. We arrived at their home world, greeted them, and told them our plan. They allowed us to start at their home world, where, as a sort of act of restitution, we helped try to restore parts of their home world that were damaged or ruined by the failed Yeerk invasion there, and provided them with enough information to build their own spaceships."

"Hold it," Jake said, interrupting me. "Weren't you basically repeating Seerow's mistake right there?"

I would have smiled right then and there, if my robotic vessel had allowed me to do so. "Don't think that didn't occur to us, Jake. However, I should point out right now that there was very little information we needed to give them. Before the Yeerk War, the Leerans were about technologically on par with the human race, but that doesn't mean both their race and yours made the same scientific discoveries and advances in the same order, or that they had all the sorts of technologies you have. One big difference was that they had already discovered Zero-space, although they didn't focus so much on space exploration as humans did. Besides, we only gave them suggestions and ideas; they actually wanted to build their spaceships all on their own.

"Anyway, while the Leerans were fixing and improving their own home world, we also tried to make up for the Empire's atrocities on the home worlds of two other species who were enslaved: The Taxxons and the Hork-Bajir.

"The Empire had used the Taxxon home world for its industrial purposes: Building spaceships, weapons, that sort of thing. We tore down and destroyed all those factories and facilities, except for the scant few we needed for our 'restoration project.' There had been some rebellious Taxxons, who refused the Yeerk Empire's overwhelming promises of food in return for service, and we made some sort of restitution with them. Using biological methods we had picked up from the Arn, we were able to quickly breed all kinds of animals to eat, as well as slightly alter the Taxxon's anatomy as to suppress their insatiable hunger and slow down their metabolism, which meant that they could go longer without food and not have to eat each other. We also built a basic orbiting defense system around their planets and moons, fully automatic, just to give them some peace of mind."

"The Arn?" a human general asked, looking confused. "Who are they?"

A female Hork-Bajir stepped forward to explain – Toby Hamee. "The Arn created my people. Thousands of years ago, about the same time that Earth was in its last Ice Age, a massive asteroid struck their home world, wiping out almost all of them, except for some survivors who remained frozen in stasis for years on one of the planet's moons while the dust settled. The Arn didn't excel at physics and spaceflight, because they were more interested in biology, which they were experts at. The planet had changed radically since the impact; after the asteroid slammed into the planet's northern pole, it opened up interconnected impact valleys all around the equator. Using their genetic skill, the Arn created massive trees taller than those on any other known planet so the impact valleys wouldn't die too, and created the Hork-Bajir in order to tend to those trees."

The Andalites looked bored at Toby's explanation, the Kelbrid seemed intrigued by such knowledge and the information, and the humans (with the exception of the Animorphs) all looked stunned at the idea of the Hork-Bajir having been _created_.

(After the defeat at the Hork-Bajir home world at the beginning of the Yeerk War, I imagine all the Arn are now dead,) Alloran said with something like regret in his thought-speech voice, no doubt remembering his actions all those years ago. (I should know – the Arn altered their own anatomy so the Yeerks couldn't successfully infest them. But with very few exceptions, the Yeerk Empire destroyed those it couldn't control.)

"An educated guess, Alloran," I said, "But not the truth."

Alloran jolted and focused all four of his eyes on me. (How could the Arn still be alive?) he asked incredulously.

Again, I would have smiled. "Remember how I mentioned those few Yeerks even before my time who tried to undermine the Empire as best as they could? Well, the leader of that group actually managed to help the Arn commandeer a Yeerk ship and escape to some far-off planet well beyond the Empire's reach or knowledge. I don't know how many Arn escaped with her help, but I would guess the number to have been fifty at the least, a hundred at the most.

"With our help, the Arn returned to their home world, as well as whatever Hork-Bajir we were able to rescue and liberate, and we helped restore both species' home regions as much as we could. We helped plant and grow new trees, restore some old ones… Well, you get the idea.

"Finally, we returned to one last species' home world: Our own. You would hardly believe what we had learned about what had happened since the uprising all those years ago; as a matter of fact, we could hardly believe it ourselves at first. There was no clear information or knowledge about the uprising, but knowledge that over a quarter million Yeerks had been taking by something or someone, and hadn't been heard from since. Older Yeerks were even telling younger Yeerks sort of 'ghost stories' about what could have happened to all those missing Yeerks.

"Using various methods of communication, including the telepathy from our new Leeran allies, we were able to establish contact with all the Yeerks from various pools across the planet. We told them about the Yeerk Empire and the war which had been fought all those years. They were shocked, even _aghast_, to say the least. They didn't know any of this, not even about the Andalite fleet parked above the planet. And now they learned that their brothers and sisters had been fighting in an interstellar war, and now their species was feared and hated throughout this arm of the galaxy. Some Yeerks couldn't even understand why anyone would want to infest any species other than Gedds, let alone alien species, considering infestation of alien species to be something like 'unnatural.' It was depressing, to say the least. You could even use a memory probe on me if you don't believe me, but I am telling the truth, however hard you may find to believe it."

I paused for a moment, allowing these words to sink in. Most of the Andalites remained as skeptical and as hard-faced as ever, but looking closely, I could see their skepticism giving way to contemplation. The humans mainly looked confused and torn, my story conflicting with whatever their Andalite allies had told them long ago and what they had chosen to believe based on what they knew of us Yeerks. The Kelbrid remained as intrigued as ever.

"As for the Council of Thirteen… Well, believe it or not, it never really existed before the uprising against Seerow. With so many Yeerks all over the planet, in pools as big as some of Earth's biggest lakes, and approximately three and a half _billion_ Yeerks in all those pools put together, there was no real government, let alone any sort of way to govern them all. We just had our own way of life, and crime as all of your species might know it wasn't possible, considering there really wasn't much we could maliciously do to each other. The so-called 'Council' was just a group of thirteen evil, greedy Yeerks who lied to and took advantage of Seerow. The disgraced Andalite prince may have made a seriously unwise decision in so naïvely trusting those thirteen Yeerks who claimed to be his friends, but those same thirteen Yeerks hold just as much blame, if not more, for all they've done since then."

(So what ultimately happened to the Council of Thirteen?) Alloran asked.

"Oh, those thirteen Yeerks have survived throughout the entire war, mainly because they took such great pains to protect themselves and had no qualms about letting their fanatical underlings all die for their warped causes. One of the first things Movement Yeerks did after the war was hunt down and capture them. Ever since then, we've had all thirteen of them in custody, essentially under what humans would call 'house arrest' – although technically, in our case, it was more like 'pool arrest.'"

More stifled laughing from some of the humans.

"Since then, Movement Yeerks such as myself have talked to other Yeerks from all over our planet. An overwhelming majority of Yeerks – nearly 100 percent of our entire race – says they're willing to commit to such causes as to help whatever races that have been negatively affected by the Yeerk Empire to prove that we're not like them. We have the numbers to help significantly, and we have just started manufacturing prototype robotic vessels just like this one."

Had I been in an organic host, I would have drawn breath before saying, "In short… we, the Yeerk race, wish to fight alongside the humans, the Andalites, the Kelbrid and the Leerans against The One."

Utter silence. You could hear a pin drop well enough as though it were a bomb exploding.

(Did I just I hear that correctly?) Aximili said after an almost painful silence. (The entire Yeerk race wants to _ally_ itself with us Andalites?)

"We have reports from a few of our own spies who believe that The One wants to enslave the Yeerk race and coerce it into enslaving other species. Furthermore, you wouldn't believe how highly some of my students think of you and your friends and fellow heroes, Prince Aximili," I said. "Quite a few of my students are, and I quote, 'Indebted to the Andalite race for fighting against our rebellious, malcontent brothers, and are impressed with the human race for helping to bring an end to their evil regime.' In fact, Aximili, one of my students worships you and wants to meet you face to face, he's that impressed."

Aximili looked flabbergasted – or at least as flabbergasted as an Andalite can appear. Smirking to myself, I recorded that image in my vessel's memory databanks. My colleagues back at the pool would be laughing their flukes off when they saw that image. Off to one side, I could see Marco trying desperately to hold in his laughter.

"I realize that the human and Andalite peoples have plenty of reasons to hate us… although, I must reiterate, this whole war was a misunderstanding – a major misunderstanding that led to countless deaths, but a misunderstanding nonetheless. We are willing, almost restless, to prove ourselves to you. If you give us the chance, we could get much done and be of much help for you, and we are willing to do it all under your supervision, since we really have nothing to hide from any of you. If you wish, we can arrange for the initial rebellion leader to speak on our species' behalf. Her name is Arklan Two-Five-Six, and she was actually a good friend of Seerow's, unlike the lying Council of Thirteen. Besides, you don't have to decide on all this right away. We Yeerks can wait a few days. Can you at least think about it?"

There was a moment of silence as the humans, Andalites and Kelbrid all conferred. I passed that time by talking with Shan Chib.

(So what do you think will happen?) I privately asked this Leeran who had been something of a friend to me for the past few years, projecting my thoughts loud enough for him to hear. Not only did Shan Chib not use his telepathy on our conferring hosts for the sake of his ethics, but even then, with their amazing mental powers, the Leerans cannot predict the future.

_Well, having us Leerans being able to determine the truth with our telepathic abilities was a good guarantee. The Andalites definitely trusted us that much in such instances. Besides, if what I've heard from my sources is true, then the Andalites would be willing to trust us in order to make up for when they retreated during the battle on our planet. They really didn't look very good after that, I must confess._

(I can imagine.)

_At least Galuit and his troops stuck by us. I worked with him a lot during the invasion of our home world, and I respect him as much as he respects me. I didn't want to tell him this, but I've come to trust you just as much. I didn't think he would take it too well._

(An extremely wise decision, Shan Chib.)

Finally, they were done talking. Jake spoke on everyone's behalf. "It's been decided that your request to be heard will be considered over the next four days. In the meantime, this Arklan 256 of yours may want to write up a good speech and report; she's going to have several billion people of different alien races to convince."

"That goes without saying, Jake," I said in response. "I cannot begin to thank you all enough for at least listening to us. See you in four days, then."

With that, Shan Chib and I walked back to the _Wavecrest_, accompanied by our entourage of Leeran bodyguards armed with traditional poisonous _haru__-chin_ spears. On my way out, I could distinctly hear Aximili say, even from that distance, (These allegedly simple talks and meetings with other alien races are getting more complicated all the time…)

* * *

_TBC__…_

A/N: So, who saw this coming? An even better question: _Was this believable enough?_

Note about the Presidential speech: Sorry if this just didn't sound good or right or anything. But hey, I tried my best there…

Note about the Leeran language: It definitely sounded a bit Oriental to me in _The Decision_, like maybe Chinese, with mainly monosyllabic words. So, I'm kind of designing it like that.

Note about Illim's name and designation: Did we ever learn Illim's number in _The Sickness_? I know I saw the "871" somewhere… I just can't remember exactly _where_…

Next chapter is where we take yet another look at the bad guys as yet another old enemy of the Animorphs comes before The One… _–Quillian_

* * *

**_STORY SNEAK PEEK!_**

This story is _Post-Animorphs #01: The Progression_. Currently, the title for the sequel to this story looks to be _The Unthinkable_. However, as I'm ironing out my plans for that fic, I'll be writing my first "Chronicles" fic: _The Yeerk Chronicles_. It will be told from the POV of my Yeerk OC, Arklan 256.

* * *


	13. CHAPTER 13

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: So, who comes back this time? Read and find out!

**_WARNING:_** I've never read #48, _The Return_, and so I had to rely on info from other people, and I just hope nothing here contradicts canon!

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to **Alara Moonrunner**, who was one of my first _Animorphs_ fanfiction readers! Happy birthday, Alara!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 13**

**Setheon**

My name is Setheon. I am The One.

I was created eons ago, and am essentially immortal. I can continually absorb all kinds of energy and radiation in order to sustain myself, me being a unique blend of energy and inorganic matter.

However, not even immortals are entirely invincible or invulnerable. With the right tools or powers, even I could be harmed… or, Crayak forbid, _killed_.

And yet, there was plenty which I could do to _other_ people, as my newly appointed "Lord Esplin" was about to find out the hard way…

**(YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT – A RATHER EASY ONE, I MIGHT ADD – AND YOU BUNGLED IT BY SPENDING YOUR TIME GLOATING AND LAUGHING!) **I fumed.

Esplin did look properly ashamed, his main eyes facing down as his stalk eyes apprehensively focused on me. (You are right, Master. I did indeed get carried away with giving them a demonstration of what I was now capable of. I promise I will not mistake the same mistake again.)

**(YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT, ESPLIN,) **I intoned as a wall opened up.

He jerked in surprise as a generous amount of transparent goo-like substance covered him. Esplin struggled against it, but he was soon solidified in a misty diamond, trapped like an insect in amber.

**(I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME IN THERE. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A FEW DAYS OFF? EITHER WAY, I NEED TO SEE SOMEONE RIGHT NOW, SO IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME…)**

A gigantic robotic claw from the same wall lifted him up and withdrew back into the wall, taking Esplin with it.

I gave myself a few moments to concentrate and calm down before summoning my agent.

An adult male human-Controller walked in, carrying a rat in a cage.

(What are you?) the rat cried using thought-speech. (What the heck do you want with me?)

**(I AM SETHEON, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE ONE,") **I said, acting like a kind mentor. **(I AM HERE TO HELP YOU… _DAVID_.)**

The rat jerked, then stopped moving altogether.

**(YES, DAVID, I KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU. I KNOW HOW YOUR LIFE WAS RUINED BY THE YEERKS, AND HOW YOU WERE BETRAYED BY THE _ANIMORPHS_.) **I put emphasis on this last word, just for effect.

David hollered in rage with his thought-speech. (I hate them all! Oh how I would love to kill them all! No wait, make them utterly miserable first, then kill them so death will be a blessing!)

I must confess, I was liking this _nothlit_ more and more by the moment. **(YOUR FEELINGS TOWARDS THEM ARE ACCEPTABLE, DAVID, AS YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE FURIOUS WITH THEM. THEY MAY HAVE DEFEATED THE YEERKS, BUT THEY ARE HYPOCRITES, NOT HEROES. THEY BECAME ARROGANT, THINKING THEMSELVES SUPERIOR TO THE REST OF THE HUMAN RACE MERELY BECAUSE THEY WERE GIVEN UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE MORPHING POWER BY A DYING ANDALITE. THEY MUST BE STOPPED, OR THEY WILL BECOME AN EVIL FAR WORSE THAN THE YEERKS EVER WERE.)**

I was looking forward to corrupting this young human's mind, and this was only the start. **(I HAVE THE POWER TO CURE YOU OF YOUR _NOTHLIT_ CONDITION, DAVID. YOU WILL STILL HAVE THE MORPHING POWER AND ALL THE MORPHS YOU'VE EVER ACQUIRED, AND IT WILL BE AS THOUGH YOU NEVER WERE A _NOTHLIT_ AT ALL. I CAN HELP YOU BRING JUSTICE TO THE ANIMORPHS AND GIVE THEM WHAT THEY DESERVE, AND THAT'S ONLY THE START. ALL I ASK IS FOR YOU TO SERVE ME AND HELP PAVE THE WAY TO A NEW ERA, WHERE ALL THE RACES OF THE GALAXY WILL LIVE IN PEACE WITH EACH OTHER AND NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE TO SUFFER THE WAY YOU HAVE.)**

David was undoubtedly drawn in by my speech – also because I new which pieces to play, of course. However, some small doubt appeared in his mind.

(With all due respect, Setheon, I remember Crayak making a similar deal with me years ago…) he said as respectfully as he could.

**(SO I'VE HEARD. I AM NOT CRAYAK; I AM SETHEON. HE'S NOT HERE; I AM. HE IS A CRUEL, ALL-TOO-POWERFUL SADIST; I AM A CONSIDERATE, MODESTLY-POWERFUL LEADER. DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRUST ME, DAVID.)**

(I know,) he said humbly. (Just trying to avoid repeating the same mistake, that's all.)

**(THAT'S A GOOD THING, DAVID. IN FACT, I PREFER HAVING INTELLIGENT CHARGES UNDER MY COMMAND, AS OPPOSED TO MINDLESS GRUNTS.) **Pausing a moment, I finally asked the big question. **(SO, DAVID, THE MATTER STILL REMAINS; WILL YOU JOIN ME, OR WOULD YOU RATHER GO BACK TO EARTH AND LIVE OUT THE REST OF YOUR DAYS AS A LOWLY RAT?)**

It took only a few seconds for him to decide – a few seconds longer than I had anticipated, actually. (I accept your generous offer, Setheon.)

**(I KNEW YOU WOULD MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION, DAVID,) **I said with a kindly tone as the "anti-_nothlit_" device appeared from behind a wall and the human-Controller released David from his cage.

The ray pointed itself at David, and the process took place. A moment or so later, David was human again, standing on his own two feet and in his "morphing suit". However, while he was but a human adolescent when he was tricked into becoming trapped as a rat, he was now a young adult.

**(WELCOME TO MY NOBLE CAUSE, _LORD_ DAVID,) **I said. **(TENRASH TWO-TWO-THREE WILL SHOW YOU TO YOUR QUARTERS, WHERE YOU CAN… FRESHEN UP.)**

David's face flushed a little; his old, sizes-too-small morphing suit was painfully tight around his body and he hadn't had a bath in literally years.

David bowed and thanked me once again before he left, led by Tenrash 223.

As soon as they both were gone, I secured my inner sanctum and activated a communicator.

DID IT WORK, SETHEON? said a booming voice from the other end.

**(YES, CRAYAK,) **I told my "father," who created me eons ago.

OF COURSE, THE FOOL THINKS HE'S JUST WORKING FOR YOU, Crayak said smugly. AS YOU JUST SAW FOR YOURSELF, HE WOULDN'T WANT TO WORK FOR ME AGAIN AFTER WHAT HAPPENED _LAST_ TIME. I ALSO LIKED HOW YOU DESCRIBED ME AS BEING A "CRUEL, ALL-TOO-POWERFUL SADIST." I'M FLATTERED, SETHEON.

**(I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE PLEASED, CRAYAK,) **I said in a more casual tone, where none of my underlings would witness me. **(SO WHAT WILL WE DO NOW?)**

JUST WAIT AND RELAX, Crayak told me. I'M TAKING CARE OF A FEW OTHER THINGS RIGHT NOW. REST ASSURED, THOUGH, THAT AS ALWAYS, YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN THERE IS ACTION TO BE TAKEN.

**(YES, CRAYAK. FAREWELL FOR NOW. SETHEON OUT.)**

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_TBC__…_

A/N: So, what do you guys think of this?

Note about Setheon: I sort of got his name after the evil Egyptian god Seth (or Sett), and interestingly enough, "Setheon" is also an anagram of "the ones." As for defeating Setheon… think of him as a tree. Under the right conditions, he could probably live forever (in fact, some trees on Earth are at least a few billion years old), but if harmed in a certain way, he could even be killed.

Next chapter takes place back on Earth, where my Yeerk OC Arklan 256 makes her debut appearance… _–Quillian_

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**_HEY, I JUST THOUGHT ABOUT SOMETHING!_**

I've been listening a lot lately to my _Halo 2_ soundtrack (YES, they do indeed sell the soundtracks to the _Halo_ games on CD), and I think there are two songs which would have suited the _Animorphs_ pretty well: "Blow Me Away," by Breaking Benjamin, and "Connected," by Hoobastank. Suppose #54 were a movie: "Blow Me Away" would have been like Rachel's theme or something, while "Connected" would probably be something you would hear during the credits as sort of an end theme. I can't show the lyrics here on this site, but if you look around the Internet, you should be able to find them on your own!

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	14. CHAPTER 14

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: **I am so sorry** it took so long to update! Curse my college courses! If you want to do the work for me, then please, be my guest! _(Just kidding…)_

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_This chapter is dedicated to **GenesisDragon**, who is great and both writing his own work and reviewing mine!_

_Also, I would like to give out a nice big thank-you to **aizxana**, whose series of _Animorphs_ fanfics are EXCELLENT and deserve to be read! Be sure to check them out if and when you get the chance!_

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**CHAPTER 14**

**Arklan 256**

My name is Arklan 256.

I am a Yeerk, and a noble and heroic one at that – although I do realize how billions of people of different species will consider that to be a contradiction of terms, especially after the end of the Yeerk War.

Now, here I was in Earth's orbit, aboard my own personal ship which I had built after the end of the war – the _Seerow_. I was actually a good friend to the Andalite prince Seerow all those years ago, unlike those treacherous Yeerks who would later call themselves the "Council of Thirteen".

In the beginning of the Yeerk War, I had operated in total secrecy, never trusting anyone except for a select few whom I had known as long-time friends. Towards the end of the war, I heard rumors and whispers about a Peace Movement on Earth, and knew I had to contact them. It was too late for me to meet Aftran 942, who had already escaped Visser Three's clutches and into Earth's oceans as an aquatic animal, but at least I was able to contact her unofficial "second-in-command," so to speak, that being Illim 871. As the self-proclaimed "Animorphs" continued with their fights against the Yeerk Empire on Earth, I continued all my work behind the scenes as I had done for years – causing "accidents" in the industrial facilities on the Taxxon home world, scrambling reports from probes about home worlds with new potential species to infest, sabotaging ships and fighters before they engaged in space combat with the Andalites in some far-off system, regularly keeping in contact with the Arn whom I helped escape during the battle on the Hork-Bajir home world… All the while, I deliberately targeted cruel, ambitious Yeerks as scapegoats, who (or at least in my honest opinion) deserved the punishments that they got for what I did.

This tactic may sound cruel at first, but I had my reasons. First of all, it showed as an example to other Yeerks about how ruthless and hypocritical their Empire was. Secondly, if I didn't make it so these other evil Yeerks were "punished," then who would stop them for committing more atrocities in the future, then who would, and when? Thirdly, I was able to convince more and more Yeerks as time went on to join my cause, so that by the time the war ended, I had at least a few thousand Yeerks at followers.

As the Andalite forces withdrew from all fronts, even speedily abandoning our own home world which they had kept watch over for so long, I set out to work, and find a way to help fix all the damage that had been done by my evil brethren.

It was Illim who proposed the idea of contacting the Leerans, after hearing about them from the Animorphs. With their telepathy, those psychic amphibians would know for themselves about our good intent. From there, we went to the Yeerk home world and were reunited with the rest of our race that had no idea what was going on all these years.

From there, we tried to start something new: A Yeerk Republic. It was an alliance of all Yeerks from all the pools across the planet, dedicated to making a positive impact on a galaxy ravaged by war for so long.

Nearly everyone was clamoring for me to be the leader, but I didn't think I had the skills, let alone the desire, to continue being the leader of this new order. I was able to find other wise Yeerks to do that, while I remained as a sort of council to them, having my place in things. I was not at the top of the chain of command, but still high up enough; it was just perfect for me. I, Arklan 256, "Heroine of the Yeerk people," was now a role model to follow. (Technically, I was more of a hero; we Yeerks are gender-neutral, and so we sort of "adopt" the genders of our hosts, and the few hosts I had had were nearly all female.)

We did away with the old regime: We abolished their hypocritical laws, did away with the rank of "visser," destroyed the Blade ships, and disassembled most of the Bug fighters and some of the Pool ships (we kept a few for the purposes of our plans).

Following the examples of Andalites, humans and Leerans, we adopted a democratic form of government, in which there was a prime "Dekkent," with several other Dekkents. However, in an ironic twist of fate, we created new ranks: Paxxors and Belgars. While vissers were ruthless warlords serving an evil empire, a Yeerk with the title of "Paxxor" would be one who handled diplomacy and other peace-time duties, whereas Belgars were military officers. Belgars differed from Vissers in that the former had a noble mindset and fought for the good of his people, not the good of himself like the latter. A Paxxor would typically be a government official or representative, while a sub-Paxxor would typically be a diplomat. Likewise, a Belgar would be like a high-ranking warrior, most likely to lead and fight in any future wars we Yeerks would be involved in, while a sub-Belgar would help serve as local law enforcement, much like human police.

In the last few years since the start of our new order, we Yeerks had fifty Paxxors and two hundred sub-Paxxors, prepared to make contact with other species and hopefully improve upon interspecies relations; since it was peacetime and not wartime, we had very few Belgars and sub-Belgars, and so I would estimate that by now, we only had about ten Belgars and fifty sub-Belgars. For our contributions to the resistance against the Yeerk Empire, me and Illim became Paxxor One and Paxxor Five respectively.

Even if it wasn't peacetime, we still had one last matter to take care of: The Council of Thirteen. I was prepared to fight and resist one last time in order to bring those thirteen corrupt Yeerks down for good, but so many other Yeerks had volunteered for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I could turn down the opportunity with a clear conscience. Another Yeerk who had been on Earth, named Eslin 359, who had a major grudge against the Empire, had led the attack on their stronghold of a hideout. For his amazing success, Eslin was appointed the rank of Belgar Three.

Within the past year or so, Illim hypothetically posed an idea: Create an artificial host. The idea spread like wildfire, and soon our engineers were working at all hours of the day to come up with something. Finally, some months later, we managed to create a few prototypes. This robotic vessel could be easily infested, could see and hear, even "smell" to an extent, and could walk and even climb. More and more models were made, and all Dekkents, Paxxors, and Belgars now used these "rovessels," as Illim had dubbed them.

We may not have had enough rovessels or Gedds to go around, but we improvised in other ways. In the artificial pools we set up on orbiting spaceships, we had multiple computer interfaces, with work centers all around edges of the pool and along the bottom, almost like "cubicles," where our students could learn and our scientists and engineers could do research. We were also in the process of designing our own, unique ships designed for interstellar warfare; we knew that many species would perceive this as a threat, but if we to offer our services, we had to have power to back it up with.

Days ago, Illim went with our Leeran allies to talk to the humans, the Andalites, and this new species called the Kelbrid. He was chosen for this assignment since he knew the Animorphs the best, and they would certainly vouch for him.

It had taken a lengthy explanation of things on Illim's part to convince and persuade them, but in the end, it worked. Now the next step of our "Restoration" plan would be ready to roll.

As I was composing my speech for those next few days, Illim showed me a recording of when he was in his own rovessel, and I decided to use parts of his explanation as my own speech.

Now, I was on my own shuttle, the _Seerow_, a gift from the new Yeerk hierarchy. The ship looked like an overlarge Andalite fighter, but with flukes on the bottom like a Yeerk has. With Illim and Eslin at my side (all of us in rovessels), we dropped out of Z-space.

There it was: _Earth_. Landmasses of green and brown, oceans of blue, covered with white clouds, it looked like a beacon in the darkness of space.

I saw an Andalite Dome ship not so far away, plus a few Leeran ships and what I presumed to be a Kelbrid ship. The Andalite ship was closest, and so it hailed us.

Two Andalite faces appeared – one was of War-Prince Alloran-Semitur-Corrass himself, and the other I didn't recognize. (Unidentified Yeerk ship, this is Officer Offeran the Dome ship _Elfangor_. Identify yourselves or suffer the consequences,) the second Andalite said arrogantly.

All three of us Yeerks were thinking the same thing: _You're just _itching_ for a chance to blow us up, aren't you?_

"This is Paxxor One, otherwise known as Arklan 256," I announced. "Behind me are Paxxor Five and Belgar Three, otherwise known as Illim 871 and Eslin 359 respectively. This is our own ship, the _Seerow_."

Alloran gaped at us for a moment – before bursting out laughing. The other Andalite looked disgusted and threw the War-Prince a dirty look. (The _"Seerow"_?) Offeran repeated incredulously.

"Yes, the _Seerow_," I repeated evenly as Alloran's laughing died down, knowing full well how the Andalites detested Seerow. I stopped myself just in time before adding, _"I'm sorry, why, were you Andalites thinking about naming one of your own ships after him?"_

Offeran privately conferred with Alloran for a moment, and then granted us clearance, plus an added warning not to deviate from our present course, to paraphrase what he said. We descended through Earth's atmosphere, with two Andalite and two Leeran fighters closely behind us.

The Leerans trusted us, although understandably, the Andalites didn't. But after all, innocent people have nothing to hide, so I was fine with it.

"Feeling well, Arklan?" Illim said, trying to make conversation – something which I assume he picked up from humans.

"Just fine, Illim," I said calmly. In private, we Paxxors and Belgars were allowed to address each other by our names and designations.

This in itself is a considerable difference from the Yeerk Empire – back then, vissers and sub-vissers always addressed and referred to each other by their rank, never their name and designation. Whether this slightly knew system was designed by the Dekkents for the sake of breaking away from the past or to avoid the sort of confusion that came out of it, no one really knew.

"Obviously, there are going to be plenty down there who hate us," I said aloud as we descended through light blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Beautiful planet, I must say. "Just remain calm and don't let anything they say get to you. That goes double for you, Eslin."

Eslin harrumphed but didn't say anything. He's normally a Yeerk of very few words – that is, unless, he's going on about what he'd like to do to Esplin 9466, the former Council of Thirteen, and other such individuals. As humans might say, he has a "short fuse."

Finally, our shuttle landed on a carrier sitting in the water; from there, we exited the shuttle and boarded a peculiar aerial vehicle with rotating wings – a "helicopter." We garnered a few funny looks at our rovessels, but we – as in Illim and I – ignored them; once or twice, however, Eslin would look right back at the observer.

We flew over the deep blue water into New York City, to the United Nations building. An area was cleared for the helicopter to land, and when it did and everything was secure, we exited it.

I must say, I have never seen a more divided crowd. Clearly polarized, half of the people there were welcoming us with signs showing positive messages (such as "Human-Yeerk Liaison for Peace!") – while the other half were clearly angry at us, and had to be kept back by police officers. I caught some of their signs, saying such things as "GO HOME, YEERK," "HAVEN'T YOU DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE TO THE GALAXY?" or "WE'LL FORGIVE YOU – ONCE YOU BRING BACK ALL THE PEOPLE YOU'VE KILLED!"

I wasn't offended, really. Besides, if there _weren't_ any humans who hated us Yeerks, or more specifically, us well-meaning ones, then what would I be doing here?

"Hi!" I said loudly, waving all four of my robotic arms to both well-wishers and ill-wishers alike. "I like you all too!" The well-wishers looked happy at such good wishes reciprocating between us and them, while the ill-wishers looked shocked and disappointed that their unkind tactics weren't working.

Some police officers escorted us, but whether it was to prevent the other humans from doing anything to us or us from doing anything to them, I had no idea.

We made our way to the room in the United Nations where I would be making my speech. I took a good look at everyone else present: The Andalites were greeting us with acerbic glares, the Leerans gazed upon us encouragingly, the Kelbrid looked politely interested, and the various human ambassadors and representatives had those same emotions, and then some.

There was silence as I walked up to the podium. "Good afternoon, one and all – human, Andalite, Leeran, Kelbrid and Yeerk alike. My name is Arklan 256 of the Sulp Niar pool. I have lived since well before the Yeerk War, and from inside, have done my best to undermine it and make things difficult for its corrupt leaders.

"I realize that there are plenty of you, both in this room and elsewhere yet watching this even as I speak, that hate me and my kind, the Yeerk species, for whatever reason. Believe me when I say that I'm not blind to this animosity which myself and my colleagues have been receiving from some people. Some reasons may be justified, like the loss of family or friends during the course of the Yeerk War; others may not be, such as hearing from others that all Yeerks are evil. However, bearing a grudge against me and my kind will accomplish nothing; the Yeerks involved in the war who actually were evil are either dead or imprisoned… that is, aside from the few who serve Setheon, 'The One.' Redirecting your anger at us because you can't take it out on them will only make things worse. Even then, those evil Yeerks who made up the 'Yeerk Empire' were just a mere fraction of the majority of Yeerks, who really weren't 'evil' at all. Over time, I've learned that no one entire species is good or evil, and no one species is perfect… and that you can not judge or condemn an entire group of people based on the actions or misdeeds of a few of its members. I could go on all day, pointing out the flaws and failures of other alien races, except that's not what I'm here to do, nor should I do. I can only ask that you try to put aside your resentment, maybe even shed it, if you can. In my experience, resentment is like consuming poison and waiting for the other person to die. Even then, be it resentment or some other negative emotion… well, I can offer this advice: While it is acceptable to feel a certain way about anything, you have to let it go after a while, because you might end up losing control over your emotions and end up with your emotions in control of you instead."

I paused here to let it all sink in. I think my preamble there may have actually had a positive effect on the majority of my audience, or at least those here in the same room as me.

"I am here to announce the Yeerk Republic's desire to work alongside the human, Andalite, Kelbrid, and Leeran peoples against this evil entity, Setheon. We have some forces designed for combat, and we can make more. We are willing to prove our trust by letting you supervise us as we make more forces, as well as help the rest of you in any way we can. Setheon is that type of evil who will control whatever he can and destroy whatever he can't. Thus, we should stand together, lest we all fall…"

As part of my speech, I repeated what Illim had said a few days earlier in order to explain some things. I also explained about the new government system which was being used, as well as some of the new technologies we had developed for ourselves to make it so we could be efficient without needing host bodies, (or at least those of organic, natural life forms, as opposed to rovessels). I also introduced plans for stable relationships with the other races.

With some help from Eslin, I also explained about our proposed ships. We kept Pool ships more for the purpose of being carriers for our fighters (whereas in the time of the Yeerk Empire, they were made more with the intent of infestation and enslavement), and had gotten rid of those garish Blade ships, which were more about shows of power than actual space combat.

As another way of doing things differently from the late Empire, we designed completely knew fighters. While the old Bug fighters just happened to bear a resemblance to the Earth insects known as cockroaches, these new fighters were intentionally designed after various Earth insects…

_Stingers:_ Designed after dragonflies, they had four long wings attached to the midsection, a cockpit at the front, and a long body/engine at the back. Like the insects they were modeled after, they were swift and deadly. The unique thing was that the wings could pivot so the wings could be flattened horizontally or vertically, or even in a sort of "X" formation. With this unique design, a fighter could simply pivot its wings instead of turning on its side to squeeze through a narrow space.

_Bombers:_ Designed after butterflies, these were, well, _bombers_. Like a butterfly, the wings closed vertically. However, embedded within each wing were several different "sockets," where bombs of different types could be stored. When flying through space, the bombs could be released as the wings "flapped," and so the bombs flew towards their targets beneath the Bombers.

_Needlers:_ Designed after mosquitoes, these rather small craft were designed for stealth, spying and sabotage. Through a needle which could drill into a ship's surface, things could be inserted or extracted.

However, I should stress that I didn't mention all these new Yeerk ships and other forms of spacecraft here, at a public speech; this information would wait until a military meeting.

With my speech and explanation finished, my companions and I were allowed to leave for the day. However, I personally took this time to meet some of the ambassadors from other species and various Earth countries. The Kelbrid ambassador Saventi was a genial being, although, as I had predicted earlier, the Andalite and human ambassadors weren't so friendly or open. Then again, the level of animosity and dislike seemed much less than before. At least I had made _some_ progress.

As we exited the building, the crowds were still there, although those who hated us seemed less numerous than when we had first arrived. One young adult male weaved to us, and Illim walked over to him, presumably because they knew each other. Was this young human perhaps one of the voluntary Controllers who helped the Peace Movement here on Earth?

I could hear Illim speak in normal, casual tones: "So, how have you been these past few years, Erek?"

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_TBC__…_

A/N: So, what do you guys think of my Yeerk OC? (Also, I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't exciting or quite up to par.)

Note about Arklan's name: I remember back in _The Hork-Bajir Chronicles_, there was a Gedd-Controller referred to as "Arklan," who injured himself by trying to use a shredder in such a dense atmosphere. (If you have a copy of it, look on page 91.) I think that Arklan will be a pool-mate or something of my OC Arklan…

Note about the question of Yeerk genders: I've heard various things in fanfiction about this: That Yeerks are a genderless, neuter race which "adopts" genders of their hosts; that they're male-female differentiated like most other species, despite their unique reproduction process; and even one thing where they actually have _three_ different genders. I personally go for the first theory myself; anyone have any thoughts on this?

Note about the opening part of Arklan's speech: I know, it's kind of a rehash and I skipped over parts of it… except I didn't want to repeat the same things over again, and I'm not in the mood to go writing speeches. Come to think of it, I don't think I'm too good a speech-maker, anyway… Also, as for the thing about "consuming poison," that was a paraphrased quote by Carrie Fisher, which goes like this: _"Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."_

Note about the new Yeerk Republic fighters: Okay, for the Stingers, think of the X-Wings from _Star Wars_, but the wings can pivot a lot more. I'm sorry if my descriptions leave anything to be desired, but hopefully, as time goes on, it will be easier to understand.

Next chapter is where Erek comes back into the picture… _–Quillian_

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**_SNEAK PEEK AT FUTURE STORIES!_**

Okay, everyone, I know I mentioned all those _possible_ book titles back after the end of chapter 5, but I think I have things more fleshed out now. At the rate things are going, my small series will have five or six normal titles, plus a few Chronicles thrown in. Here's what it looks like so far…

Normal titles: #1, _The Progression_; #2, _The Unthinkable_; #3, _The Clone_; #4, _The Vault_; #5, _The Crystal_; and #6, _The Endgame_.

Chronicles: _The Yeerk Chronicles_; _The Leeran Chronicles_; _The Kelbrid Chronicles_; and _The Crayak Chronicles_. (Although not necessarily in that order, and I may also write something about Arbron, to be entitled _Nothlit_.)

I may also write a story that takes place a couple of centuries into the future or so, where a young student looks back on the "age of the Animorphs." That would be cool, and I think I could get it done. Also, I'm probably not going to write a "Chronicles" story for every last species ever used or even remotely mentioned through the series… although, it would be cool to try and write something for the Arn, most likely taking place when that asteroid hit their home world. Maybe also the Chee, if I can manage it.

**However, between my busy schedule for this college semester and trying to plan an entire mini-series of _Animorphs_ stories with so many chapters each, just don't expect me to keep cranking them out so fast! In fact, this just may be the last chapter for a little while!**

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	15. CHAPTER 15

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: **_URGH!_** I lost ALL my fanfiction files, including the original one for this chapter! I had to get all the files back, or some cases, type them up again! Anyway, I managed to find some time to write up this short chapter!

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**CHAPTER 15**

**Illim**** 871**

Erek, a member of the android race calling themselves the Chee, approached me from the crowd. On the surface, he appeared to be a normal young adult human male, giving a friendly greeting to peaceful Yeerks. On the surface, there was much more than met the eye, as the human saying goes.

"Let's talk later," he whispered to me.

"Agreed," I responded back in an equal whisper to match his own.

From there, Arklan, Eslin and I retired back to our ship and took off from Earth's atmosphere. We stayed close in the company of the Leeran ships, especially close to the _Wavecrest_. Arklan and Eslin went back to their own respective quarters while I used the ship's communications to contact Erek.

It had been several hours since we briefly encountered each other. He would be back at his home by now.

Using the code he supplied me with (something which humans might consider to be like a telephone number), I contacted him – and waited…

"Illim?"

I looked up and heard his voice on the other end of the z-space transponder. "Yes, Erek, this is Illim 871, otherwise known as Paxxor Five. How may I help you?"

A snort of amusement from Erek. "Har har. So… how have things been going for you since you left?"

"Quite well, actually. Once again, I can't thank you and the other Chee enough for 'giving' us plans and schematics for these rovessels."

"We really didn't 'give' them to you, Illim. You just got the idea from us Chee, developed it some more… and we just helped you flesh it out, so to speak."

"True. Still, not much to do when you're done rebuilding the house after the Yeerks attack and are staying with your Chee friends because they have free Kandrona rays."

"It's also a good thing we found those few stray Bug fighters to help you get away, once all the extra security started to ease up."

"Also true. So… apart from all this catching-up, what else is there to talk about?"

"Well… not much, really. Although I _would_ like to finally meet this 'legendary' Arklan 256, even if it is over some z-space transponder."

I laughed lightly. "That can easily be arranged. Please wait for a moment." I "put him on hold" and went to go get Arklan.

Barely a minute later, Arklan and Erek were so engrossed in their conversation that I doubt either would have noticed if something exploded on either end. I spent that time merely gazing out the viewport, watching the _Seerow_ slowly orbit that beautiful planet.

After several minutes which felt more like several hours, I retired back to my own quarters. _Let them talk,_ I told myself, _You__ can speak with Erek again another time._

Back in my private quarters, I used my own computer to tune in to some radio stations, looking for something good to listen to. After finding something by Bach on a classical music station, I just relaxed myself, strangely feeling much better than I had for weeks.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: OK, this is just a short chapter to explain how Illim and some of the other Peace Movement members survived the bombing of the Yeerk pool and subsequent defeat. _(By the way, I would like to thank **Gryphinwyrm7** for pointing that out in his review for ch. 12.)_

I don't know what to do for the next chapter, but I _will_ figure it out! _–Quillian_

* * *

**_EXTRA!_**

Want to see these chapters in true format, including seeing those brackets used to denote thought-speech instead of some confusing parantheses? Go to my "TalesOfWizardsAndAliens" Yahoo group, and see the files for yourself!

* * *


	16. CHAPTER 16

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: **_URGH!_** On top of having to put this fic on hold for two months because of college, I lost a lot of my computer files, especially for my fanfiction, **TWICE** in a row! _I would just like to thank everyone for bearing with me while I fought with Real Life to get this done._

Also, **Gryphinwyrm7** pointed out in his review for chapter 15 that the humans in this fic wouldn't just sit around and wait to be attacked again… which, of course, I knew as I was planning and writing all this. _Still, either way, I would like to thank him for pointing that out, and so this chapter is dedicated to him._

Furthermore, the name of the Arn which appears in this chapter this is named after my reader and friend **Alara Moonrunner**.

* * *

**CHAPTER 16**

**Jake**

No one said it, yet just about everyone knew it anyway: We were going to go to war.

Oh, this wasn't announced to the rest of the world just yet, of course. There were still certain things that needed to be done.

Even before I was asked if I could help out, I offered if I could do so. At one point in time, after the end of the Yeerk War, I wanted nothing ever again to do with war or fighting. However, now and in retrospect, I knew that it was really that I needed to recover from what I had gone through, and to come to grips with everything. I was a good leader and fighter, as the Yeerk War had proved… I just needed to get used to some things. Besides, I'm not the kind of person who would let entire races go into war while I just sit back and do nothing.

While I had spent the past few years teaching people about the morphing technology and how to use it, I had given myself a sort of unorthodox military education, learning things on my own which military students are typically taught. I had come to an agreement with my superiors to learn these sorts of things from official instructors before I would go out on my own and lead people into battle or on missions. I had done well leading a handful of fellow teenagers against an entire alien invasion force… but that didn't mean I couldn't learn more.

There were several secret meetings between humans, Andalites, Leerans, Yeerks and Kelbrid. The first of these was where an important question was asked…

"No offense, but if you Kelbrid are so powerful and well-equipped, then why do you need help from all of us?"

…and we got the answer to that question…

"We already told you about some factors, such as Setheon's ability to live in unconventional ways or how various species or members of species are siding with him," Saventi began. "But there is another, more serious reason, which is to be discussed in a military conference like this because it is not fit for public knowledge."

The Kelbrid ambassador then took out another one of the Kelbrid-style information discs which we had become familiar with. He set it down on the table in front of him, and activated it by waving his hand over it.

"Our spies have found increased and harried movements of a few different species who could be working for Setheon, each numbering in the billions… and none of which we have been able to identify." As the information disc began to come to life, he then added, "They are using some kind of cloaking technology which we are still trying to understand, on top of how they work only during the nights of the planets which they are situated on… but apart from their basic shapes and body structure, we know virtually nothing else about them."

Shadowy images floated in the air. It started out with shapes we were familiar with… humans, Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, Gedds, Skrit and Na… but then the unknown shapes began to form…

Skeletal, insect-like creatures skittered around, arms flailing and jaws gnashing… serpentine-like creatures shot through water in feral ways… big, tough-looking things lumbering on four legs before they broke into a run, looking like they could take down a rhino…

The rest of us exchanged glances with one another. Well, this was certainly new…

As the images faded and the disc shut itself off, Saventi turned back to address the rest of us. "I have said it before, but I will say it again… It is not as though we want to pick fights with other species or drag any other species into these fights, but often, one has no choice but to fight."

I couldn't blame Saventi for reiterating what he had first said when he and his fellow Kelbrid had shown up. Lots of people had gone accusing the Kelbrid of trying to rope us into a fight we weren't needed in. Granted, those people may have been paranoid hecklers, but even still…

Of course, lots of people trusted the Kelbrid, especially with the overwhelming proof they had given us that this was one threat that just couldn't be ignored. One person even brought up something as a comparison… I forget exactly what it was, but I know it was written about Nazi Germany during World War II, and ended with something like "By the time they came for me, there was no one left to speak up for me." In other words, an unchecked problem can soon become everyone's problem, and this was just one of those examples.

During one of these conferences, we also saw some things which the Leerans and Yeerks had developed, or at least in terms of spacecraft.

The Leerans developed their own fighters, roughly based on their own physiology, as we saw when "Lord Esplin" attacked. Inspired by Andalite Dome ships, they developed some of their own ships which contained artificial parks to resemble their home world. These "Globe ships" had a central sphere within the ship which resembled their native planet with Leera, while there was a round bridge on the top that looked sort of like the bridge of the _Enterprise_.

The Yeerks had taken apart most of their Pool ships, since the Yeerk Republic didn't go around enslaving worlds the way the Yeerk Empire did. In an effort to disassociate themselves as much as possible with the previous Yeerk regime, the new Yeerk government ditched just about every kind of ship which the old one used. Their main carriers were still Pool ships, but they had evolved into something else to the point where you knew it was based off the old kind of Pool ship, but you could also see that it was different (kind of like how in the _Star Wars_ movies, the Republic Star Destroyers looked different from the Imperial Star Destroyers a generation later, but you could tell that the former preceded the latter). The old Blade ships were as much a show of power for privileged vissers as they were deadly and functional, and so they were all scrapped and abandoned. While the Yeerk Empire used only one kind of Bug fighter, the Yeerk Republic currently had three different kinds of fighters in the works with different purposes, inspired by different Earth insects…

_Stingers:_ Modeled after dragonflies, these things looked sort of like X-Wings flying backwards, with the pivoting wings towards the front instead of the back.

_Bombers:_ Modeled after butterflies, these things had lots of bombs with various effects stored away in pockets in their wings. Much like Warthogs used in the Air Force, they were relatively slow but loaded with explosives.

_Needlers:_ Modeled after mosquitoes, these things were rather small, not much larger than an adult Hork-Bajir, and were designed for espionage and sabotage.

We were just wrapping up one of those meetings one day when Arklan 256 announced that one of her friends had arrived.

Two Marines entered, guarding a small creature that walked on four legs and was covered in brilliant blue-green feathers. It was an Arn.

He (or she?) walked at what humans would consider to be a sedate pace. As this Arn newcomer came forward, Arklan announced to the rest of us:

"May I introduce… Qualaramoonrun. She has been in charge of the small community of Arn refugees which we have protected for the past several years, ever since the start of the war."

There was a polite smattering of applause as she stepped forward. While the Arn were few, she told us, she and her fellow Arn would happily supply for any medical needs that would inevitably coming along during a conflict.

All sorts of plans were drawn up between the militaries of all species. All of the human nations had pooled all their resources into a single organization, UEMI (United Earth Military Initiative).

A week after most of the preliminary talks, I happened to run into Cassie again. While any chance of us together in a relationship had disappeared, that didn't mean we couldn't ever see each other again or avoided seeing each other again at all costs.

We only spoke some words to each other, not a lot, but the meanings beneath those words spoke in volumes. I would go off to help fight; but she would stay here and do what she could to help without having to directly fight.

Just like months ago when I gave the order to ram the Blade ship, a thought occurred to me:

_Some things change, and yet some things never do change._

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: Well, yet another chapter… what else can I say?

Also, I don't know if I'm writing this too realistically, but this only my first multi-chapter _Animorphs_ fanfic, and I'm doing the best I can with it.

I don't exactly know what's next, but I can tell you that there's only a few more chapters left of this story… –_Quillian_

* * *

_**EXTRA!**_

**Okay, people, I have a confession to make here…**

_Star Wars_ is most likely going to be a note-worthy influence on this small series of fanfics.

There, I said it.

The same way _Star Trek_ was a note-worthy influence for K.A. Applegate in writing the _Animorphs_ series (as well as _The Lord of the Rings_), this fanfic series will be somewhat reminiscent of George Lucas' galactic playground. (I know just as much about SW as I know little about ST.)

Oh, and the popular _Halo_ franchise will probably also be nodded to in this series.

* * *


	17. CHAPTER 17

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Well, only a few more chapters left before this is all wrapped up… but first, time to show a new morph or two… after all, you can't have _Animorphs_ without morphing, now can you? **(BTW, I'd just like to apologize in advance if I don't describe the morphing process so well.)**

Also, _this chapter is dedicated to **Aldrex**, whose fics "The Forgotten" and "The Recalled" are simply awesome. If you haven't checked them out and read them yet, then I heartily recommend reading them._

* * *

**CHAPTER 17**

**Tobias**

Over time, I had come to make acquaintances with the Kelbrid, or more specifically, Saventi, Skiba and Vegren. For some reason, I was just interested in the Kelbrid and their way of doing things (and I was pretty sure it almost had nothing to do with the fact that we were birds one way or another, contrary to how Marco joked about it).

Okay… so maybe it _did_ have something to do with that. Being a human definitely had its perks, but so did being a bird – or more specifically a bird of prey, like a hawk.

Whatever.

A new program was being introduced… Andalite warriors would come to Earth and acquire all sorts of morphs which they could use in battle. The planet practically provided a whole cornucopia of "morphable" creatures with DNA for them to acquire. Cassie would provide more info on the animals they were acquiring.

In addition to that, they also acquired Hork-Bajir and Kelbrid morphs. With permission from the members of both races, Andalite warriors acquired DNA from both alien species, mixed them together with the _Frolis Maneuver_, and came out with their own unique Hork-Bajir and Kelbrid morphs.

One day, just as Ax was finishing his own unique Kelbrid morph, I thought out loud, "It must be great to have a Kelbrid morph."

Vegren and the few other Kelbrid warriors looked wryly at each other (well, or so I thought), and the next moment, the Kelbrid _karmaad_ said to me, "If you wish to gain a Kelbrid morph… then I do not see why not."

"Thanks, Vegren." With that, I acquired his DNA and that of three other Kelbrid warriors.

And then, with Ax coaching me through it, I went through the process…

First, I had to go through each of their morphs separately before finally making my own. I had seen Ax do this with my friends years ago when he made his own human morph, and so I at least had a reference to go by with that.

I morphed Vegren first…

Feathers began to sprout all over my body, with whites mixed it with light and pale grays, with fuchsias and blues here and there. My feet grew into claws with talons, my hands also growing in a similar way. My mouth extended into a half-hard beak with the edges of the beak almost acting like lips. Little rows of teeth also grew inside my mouth, teeth designed for eating and consuming both plants and prey alike. My legs felt strange at the knees, since Kelbrid have that trick of allowing their legs to bend either way. My dirty blond hair sprouted into a magnificent crest of feathers, and my eyesight became sharper, almost as good as a hawk's. And finally, there was the pair of wings that defined a Kelbrid, those two angel-like wings which grew between my spine and my shoulder blades. I could feel my center of balance shift because of those wings, which were relatively light and yet strong.

I wanted to explore more as a Kelbrid, but held that off until the very end, because I still had this process left to complete…

I went through all four acquired morphs, mixing them into my own… until finally, I could sense I was done.

Finally, I spoke. "So, how do I look?" My words almost came out like rough squawks. Apparently, these Kelbrid vocal cords could take some getting used to.

"It is… unique," Vegren said after a moment.

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh… I don't look ridiculous, do I?"

(I wouldn't say that,) Ax volunteered.

I moved for the first time on my nimble yet strong legs, getting used to the unique knee joints. I also learned to fold my wings back when I walked, as not to slow myself with drag when they were left open. Walking up to a shiny Kelbrid fighter, I observed myself in the reflective surface.

_Not bad_, I thought to myself. I almost feared for half a second that I would look so ridiculous that it looked as though I had gotten splattered in several different colors of paint or would even end up looking like a Jackson Pollock painting. But this… oh, this was so much better.

For the most part, my feathers were a brilliant shade of blue, mixed in with some light gray and a little bit of white as well. My main body looked like Earth's daytime sky with some clouds mixed in, or maybe like a male Andalite's fur. My crest of feathers on top of my head looked almost like my dirty blond hair as a human. I could see that I had a very powerful build, and I was probably as strong as a typical male human marine.

However, since I had also made my own morph, I wasn't wearing any kind of Kelbrid armor or whatever. Technically, I was naked, but judging by how the Kelbrid were covered with the same amount of feathers pretty much over their own body, I guess they didn't need to wear clothes for the same reasons we humans did (to cover certain regions of the body).

"When I said you looked unique, what I meant was that you somehow morphed a pattern of feathers not seen among Kelbrid," Vegren stated.

"I see," I said, still observing how I looked. Then turning back to Vegren and the other Kelbrid warriors, I said, "It is wonderful, thanks again."

"It is no problem," Vegren said casually.

Struck by a sudden idea, I decided to try something out…

Moving my wings, I tried to fly as a Kelbrid…

It took a few tries, since I had to get used to this new center of gravity and figure out how to be most aerodynamic, but once I figured it out… it was so wonderful, to fly as a Kelbrid.

In fact, it was amazing enough just to _be_ a Kelbrid. As someone who's lived his life either as a human or as a bird, this new form almost seemed like a wonderful fusion of both other forms, like a kind of morphing Zen or something. It offered the best of both worlds, with the dexterity and strength of a human combined with the flight and movement of a bird. The eyesight was not as strong as a hawk's, but still quite strong; the sense of smell was improved somewhat; and did I mention flying?

Ax told me through thought-speak about when I had only ten minutes left in morph, and after one last dive through the air, I swooped back and demorphed.

We spent the rest of the night talking, including possible tactics we could learn and use while in our brand-new Kelbrid morphs.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: So, how was this chapter overall?

Next chapter is Cassie again, mixed in with something from Toby Hamee's perspective… –_Quillian_

* * *


	18. CHAPTER 18

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Time to do something from Toby Hamee's perspective, methinks…

* * *

**CHAPTER 18**

**Cassie**

I'm pretty sure that it was Flavius Vegetius who said, _Sī vīs pācem, parā bellum_ – "if you want peace, prepare for war."

In a way, since I wanted peace, I helped others prepare for war. I drew up a list of useful morphs which Andalite warriors could use – which was more or less every kind of morph which we Animorphs had acquired. Jake did a well enough job with teaching others about morphing in general, but as someone who was a relative expert on animals on general, this particularly duty fell to me.

Most of the Andalite warriors who had already been on Earth for the meeting with the Kelbrid had already gotten Kelbrid and Hork-Bajir morphs, and a covert idea had been agreed upon: In the middle of the night, I would lead these morph-capable Andalite warriors into zoos and have them acquire the creatures there.

So no one on Earth would catch on to these covert plans, I explained these things on the Dome ship _Elfangor_. It was fascinating for me to get a good look at a Dome on an Andalite Dome ship – there wasn't much time for sightseeing back when we rescued Ax all those years ago. No animal life, but plenty of plant life, however.

Currently, I was in the process of describing such a morph.

(This creature is called an owl,) I said, perched on top of a crystal growing out of the artificial pond in the center with the Andalite warriors all gathered around. (This particular breed is known as a horned owl, because of the obvious crest on the top of its head. Owls are nocturnal predators who feast on small rodents. They have incredible eyesight and hearing; however, because of their cone-shaped eyes, they have to turn their heads entirely if they want to look in another direction. Their feathers are also designed so they can't be heard, even if they flew right in front of your face. They should be ideal for surveillance, observation, and maybe the occasional quick escape.)

And just to demonstrate, I took off and flew around the Dome, over Andalite heads and through tree branches. I also hooted a few times, just for the sake of it.

As I settled down on the ground outside the cluster of Andalite warriors, I demorphed. "Any questions?" I asked once I was fully done demorphing.

One Andalite gestured to me. (I have heard that owls are used and can be trained to deliver messages. I was merely curious if this was true.)

I raised my eyebrow. Looks like this particular Andalite warrior had somehow come across one of those _Harry Potter_ movies or something. "No, sorry, but that's just in a particular kind of fiction. Still, other birds have been trained to deliver messages in the past, such as carrier pigeons."

And so the demonstrations and explanations went on. I had acquired even more morphs which I hadn't had during the few years I fought the Yeerk Empire with my fellow Animorphs, such as tigers, rhinos, grizzly bears, and gorillas. Other than that, I showed them the kinds of morphs which all of us Animorphs had acquired and used over the years: Fly, cockroach, elephant, chimpanzee, osprey, hawk, eagle, wolf, parrot, cockatiel, cheetah, cape buffalo, beaver, snake, horse, squirrel, seagull, flea, skunk, wolf spider, bat, mole, anteater, seal, polar bear, mountain goat, eel, trout, shark, dolphin, whale, squid (those last six I had to morph near the pond, and that nearly caused some problems with each)…

After it was all done, and the Andalites cleared out to retire to their quarters, I heard a gravely voice from behind me:

"Cassie? I would like to talk to you."

* * *

**Toby Hamee**

My name is Toby Hamee.

And currently, I needed to talk to my friend, Cassie.

She jumped, surprised, and turned around to face me. "Oh, Toby, it's you," she breathed in relief.

"Yes, it's me," I said with a Hork-Bajir grin. I had know Cassie for years, and even more recently, I had come to be good friends with her soon-to-be husband, Ronnie. They did the work they were hired to do by the American government, but they still took the time to go out of their way to protect myself and the other Hork-Bajir situated in Yellowstone from humans who were simply being… well, idiots, to put it mildly.

When I wasn't looking out for my people and teaching young Hork-Bajir, I was reading human books and texts lent to me by Cassie and Ronnie. I was known as a "seer" among my kind; in other words, I had greatly heightened intelligence compared to the rest of my kind. I can humbly say that I was probably smart enough to attend any given human or Andalite university on either species' home world.

"Anyway, like I said, I need to talk to you."

She gave me her full, undivided attention.

Taking a deep breath, I told her what I had to say.

"I am going to help fight."

Strange how so few words could be so hard to say…

Cassie blinked, puzzled. "Come again?"

And so I reiterated

"I am going to help the human forces in this inevitable conflict, Cassie. And if you have no problems with doing so… I would like you to watch out for my people for me… please."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Toby… hypothetically, I wouldn't mind doing that, but I just have to admit that I didn't see this coming."

I sighed. "Good point." Gathering my thoughts, I explained it to her.

"Make no mistake, Cassie, it is an honor for me to look after my people. However, I feel that with some of my skills and my intellect, I would be better suited for helping on the field of battle."

I had been reading plenty of those said human books and texts, to the point I wanted to write some of my own things. I already had the morphing technology, and I had my own human morph created by the _Frolis maneuver_ which made it practical when I met with the government, since I was the de facto leader of the Hork-Bajir. And much like my ancestor, the great Dak Hamee, I just had a thirst for knowledge, where the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.

I had already drawn the attention of professors who marveled at my intellect, tacticians who marveled with my strategies, and even got an offer from a master of the human martials arts form known as _karate_ to be taught with those skills.

If I were to learn new things about combat, at least I would be learning it from a species who knew how to fight. Obviously, the Andalites and even the Kelbrid had been at it longer when it came to warfare in space, but humans were no slouches either. They had had millennia of practice with warfare among their peoples, ever since their first civilizations, and war often accelerated technological progress, which would explain how human technology went at a much quicker pace than Andalite technology had.

I didn't like the idea of fighting in another war all that much either, but as a certain human saying goes, "Better to be safe than sorry."

However, even without a back-and-forth conversation, weighing the pros and cons of my decision, Cassie understood.

"I understand perfectly, Toby. Since I already have a job, I can't be there _all_ the time, but I know and trust quite a few people who can be there for your people when I can't be there."

I let out a small sigh of relief. "Thank you so much, Cassie."

She nodded in return, but she also looked up at me. "Just… take care of yourself, okay?"

I gave a tiny Hork-Bajir smile. "Of course, Cassie. That goes without saying."

She came towards me, and embraced me in a hug, careful not to accidentally cut herself on any of my blades. I gently hugged her back as not to accidentally crush her in my grip.

"Anyway, I must be getting back."

I nodded and bade her farewell as she left. At Alloran's invitation, he allowed me to come here to talk to Cassie, and then to let me stay here on the Dome ship during the night.

Tired, I walked to one of the foreign Andalite trees and situated myself in one which I judged to be most comfortable, with gently curving branches and green and blue leaves. After sampling some of the exotic bark, I slowly feel asleep, thinking of the current state of things.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: So, how was this chapter?

Note about Toby Hamee: I just had this crazy idea… pairing Tobias up with his namesake. Anyone think such a thing would work? _(Hey, inter-species romances _have _been done before in the series… and ironically, if it weren't for those inter-species romances, neither Tobias nor Toby would exist.)_

Next chapter is something from Marco's POV again… –_Quillian_

* * *


	19. CHAPTER 19

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: I think it's time to do something again from Marco's POV…

* * *

**CHAPTER 19 **

**Marco**

Don't think for a moment that I wanted to go to war again.

However, I did realize that if things got bad enough here on Earth, or if Earth was even destroyed altogether, that would be the end of my lifestyle.

Allow me to kill a certain perception right now: Just because I am wealthy and I like being wealthy, that doesn't mean I'm some rich, arrogant snob who would rather jump off a building than I have to live without all that wealth.

(Oh, and here's an interesting fact I learned from some of the financial people whom I worked with: The thing with people jumping off of buildings after losing their fortunes during the Great Depression was greatly over exaggerated. Sure, a few people had done so because they had become so addicted to, but that didn't mean that people kept falling from the sky all the time. If that were true, then people walking by dead bodies on the streets would have been casually saying things like, "Oh look, another guy who jumped from a building…" But anyway, now I'm digressing.)

Of course, another thing I had learned from these financial people was that wartime economies tend to make more money. When you think about it, you realize that that's true. When it would eventually be announced that we would be going to war, I would contribute by doing wartime advertisements.

Yup, with my doing wartime advertisements, "The One" and his followers wouldn't stand a chance.

Ha ha, Mr. One. Ha ha.

Just like Cassie, I would be better playing to my strengths off the field of battle. However, unlike Cassie, I had a different way of helping.

And if The One was as big and bad as the Kelbrid all claimed he was, then we would all need to do what we were best at.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: So, how was this chapter, as short as it was?

Note about the thing with suicides during the Great Depression being greatly over exaggerated: This is true. You know, just in case there were any doubts about it.

Next chapter will most likely be the penultimate (second-to-last) chapter, with something from Jake's perspective again, and also something from Marco's perspective, if I can manage it… _–Quillian_

* * *


	20. CHAPTER 20

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: And now, back to Jake's POV…

* * *

**CHAPTER 20**

**Jake**

I was walking with Ax and Tobias towards Saventi's ambassador shuttle. "Off to war again," I said, with mixed emotions about it.

(This is not much of a surprise to me,) Ax said. (As an Andalite warrior, as a Prince, I live for this sort of thing.)

"And I'll have plenty of time to prepare for war while I'm with the Kelbrid," Tobias said matter-of-factly.

Both Ax and I turned to him. I took a quick glance at Ax, and he seemed to be just as surprised as I was.

Seeing the looks on our faces, Tobias explained.

"I've just been hanging out with the Kelbrid so much lately that I just get along with them a lot. In fact… Vegren even invited me to join them when they fight off Setheon's troops on the Norshk home world."

I raised an eyebrow. "Not that I have anything against you being friendly with the Kelbrid, Tobias… but for some strange reason, that old saying about 'birds of a feather' comes to mind," I said, trying to sound un-Marco-ish as possible.

Tobias chuckled a little. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know…"

As we continued to walk, Ax said to both of us in what I was sure was private thought-speak, (I know I shouldn't be telling anyone this… but I might also be going to the Norshk home world. That has yet to be decided, however.)

"Well… actually, I need to meet with certain people over the next few days… so just in case I forget, I'll say it now: Wherever you go, good luck… to the _both_ of you."

(Indeed,) Ax said just as Tobias said, "You're welcome."

As we parted ways, I thought about how I was going to spend the remaining time with my parents.

They had already lost one son, even long before they realized it. This was all very hard at first for them to come to grips with, not just before they got captured, but also with learning the truth about their oldest son's activities with The Sharing; as they put it, dealing with your children being controlled by elusive parasitic aliens was one scenario that no human parents had ever really prepared for. Even as I avoided the spotlight as much as possible during the first year of the war, I had as a result become closer to them. Even as the rest of the world saw me as some sort of near-invincible hero, they saw me as the struggling teenager I was, albeit one who had done the best he could after being thrown into an interplanetary war between other alien races.

And now, with the progression of how things were going, the things which people already cherish were going to become even more worth cherishing.

_Some things change, and some things just never do change._

That mantra would become fitting for all that I was about to go through.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: So, how was this chapter, as brief as it was?

Next chapter is the final chapter, so you might want to review now, BECAUSE THE END IS NEAR… –_Quillian_

* * *


	21. CHAPTER 21

**DISCLAIMER:** See Ch. 1.

A/N: Finally, at long last, I'M ABOUT TO COMPLETE THIS FIC…

_This chapter is dedicated to **Rurouni Tyriel**, whose _X-Men: Evolution _fic "Graduation" played a small role in the writing of this fic, especially in the thing with how some things change, and other things never do change._

_This chapter is also dedicated to **everyone** who read and reviewed my work. Thanks for helping me get this fic to 100 reviews and beyond! You know who you are!_

* * *

**CHAPTER 21**

**Jake**

All my days and half my nights were consumed by reading military texts, from books on strategy to biographies of both the famous and the infamous of Earth's wars. Heck, I even read _Ender's Game_ and its sequels, just to make sure.

Believe it or not (and chances are you would believe it), some people, even serious professor types, actually thought about ranking me up there among the top historical figures in history because of the role I played in the Yeerk War. Should I be surprised, given how practically every college on the planet tried to get me to attend them?

In fact, some people even claimed I was the best thing since Alexander the Great since I fought and won a war at an even younger age than when he become a soldier and created an empire spread across three continents. (In my honest opinion, that comparison to Alexander was just statistical. I mean, come on, I never even conquered things to begin with, nor would I have ever wanted to.)

I didn't like fighting for the heck of it and think of it as a game, like Rachel did. But I did know when, where, and how to fight.

I was Jake.

I was an Animorph.

I was going to fight.

* * *

**Tobias**

Since I technically never registered with the government, I had no qualms about just taking off. Edit that: I had no qualms about taking off, leaving only a single note behind.

Yes, I left a note. It read only two words: GONE FLYIN'.

Personally, I think it was a nice touch. Marco would doubtlessly be amused by it later when he found out about it.

I took care of some other things before I left, of course. I at least told all my friends (Jake, Marco, Cassie, Ax, and Toby) that I was going off with the Kelbrid.

I was on the Kelbrid ship, and I pulled my weight and contributed to what I could, trying to be a generous guest. I'll say this much about the Kelbrid "mothership" I was on: Sometimes, you'd think it was made out of crystals or feathers rather than metal.

I also enjoyed martial arts training with the other young recruits currently on board (the Kelbrid word for "cadet" is _leetan_.) There were other times when I had to help, but after all, it was a warship with training, so obviously I had to pull my own weight (so to speak).

But since this was all part of an opportunity of a lifetime, I wasn't about to start complaining about anything.

I was Tobias.

I was an Animorph.

I was the son of Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul, nephew of Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.

I was one who would fight alongside the Kelbrid.

* * *

**Cassie**

Both Jake and I had once thought at maybe there was some kind of future for us.

Maybe that could have happened if, somehow, Earth was never invaded by the Yeerks and Elfangor hadn't come to us – but that was all now moot.

But on the other hand, there was no denying that if Jake and I hadn't had that special bond, we may not have lasted through the war very long.

Ah well. Perhaps it was for the best anyway.

Jake is just as much a warrior as I am a pacifist.

Both have their strengths and weaknesses, their advantages and disadvantages, their pros and cons, as does everything else in this universe.

I was Cassie.

I was an Animorph.

I would strive for peace even in the face of war.

* * *

**Marco**

What? You were expecting me to go on again about how I'd rather help somehow from home rather than go fight on the battlefront again?

Well, apparently not.

I was Marco.

I was going to do what I do best.

I was also going to make sure that it somehow coincided with helping to fight this new enemy.

* * *

**Aximili**

I had never been before been so torn over where I would be fighting the enemy and doing my duty as an Andalite prince.

Perhaps I had been on Earth and among humans for so long that a part of it just stuck with me.

Perhaps it was because I had made friends there whom I fought along with, friends who ended up doing more against the Yeerks on Earth than my own fellow Andalites, as ashamed as I was to acknowledge that.

I think I was beginning to see my father's point of view, about how that planet had claimed so much, especially from my family, that made him – and sometimes, myself – wish that I never had anything to do with it.

But then, I would have never experienced so much good from it, either.

On a cosmic scale, lots of things are neither "good" nor "bad" – they just _are_.

Just as I was who and what I was.

I was Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.

I was an Andalite prince, and an Animorph, more or less.

I had my duty – but also my loyalty, and not just to the Andalite People.

* * *

**Alloran**

It turned out that I was able to track Esplin 9466 from the Andalite home world. Using all the information I had given the Electorate years ago, I would work alongside others to help search for this monster who had ruined so many lives… including my own.

Yes, there was that old shame I felt, for things I was and wasn't responsible for… but at the same time, I could feel a new opportunity for pride and honor in the air.

It would help fuel my work, and help prove to everyone that I _was_ capable of doing something right.

I was Alloran-Semitur-Corrass.

I was a disgraced Andalite war-prince.

I was not about to avoid this coming conflict in which I could do so much good for those who needed someone to fight for them.

* * *

**Vegren**

In a way, I was honored to become an acquaintance – "friend" might have been too strong a word – of the great Tobias, the Animorph.

It was also an honor to fight alongside people of different races who didn't deserve to become a slave to Setheon, "The One" – although if half the rumors passed down from generation to generation of Kelbrid were true, then _no one_ deserved to be a slave to that unnatural, freakish monster.

As far as anyone knew, he represented all that was evil and foul in the universe.

And it was up to us, Kelbrid or otherwise, to stop him.

I was _Karmaad_ Vegren Alterr din-Kalmesh.

I was a Kelbrid warrior.

I was doing my part in what simply _had_ to be done.

* * *

**Arklan**

I think there is something deep in human nature which makes them to feel the urge to fight from time to time. Some people, maybe even other humans, would frown upon how human history spanning several Earth millennia is filled with fighting, war and death. However, ever the optimist (practically a prerequisite for being an ambassador, in my honest opinion), I knew that if humans as a whole had managed to last those several Earth millennia by trying to repress those urges to fight as much as they could, they obviously must have been doing _something_ right.

I also think the trick was to redirect the targets of their urge to fight at other people – people who clearly deserved it.

It was a lesson I had learned long ago among my fellow Yeerks who fought with me against the corrupt leadership at the time, and the same still rang true with these humans.

I was Arklan 256.

I was a Yeerk ambassador, with the rank of Paxxor One.

I was not about to give up with what I was doing for the good of the galaxy and everything and everyone in it.

* * *

**Illim**

I talked a lot more with Adam (a.k.a. Mr. Tidwell) and Erek as time went on. Not just because they were my friends, but also because associating with people like them reminded me of why I do my job.

In a way, Earth was like home to me. Whether it was the Yeerk or the human in me talking, I didn't take the threat of destruction to my home very lightly.

I was Illim 871.

I was a Yeerk ambassador, with the rank of Paxxor Five.

I was not about to let everyone whom I cherished and everything I fought for in a previous war be wiped out in an upcoming war.

* * *

**Toby Hamee**

My training was going well. I could only hope the war could go well, in our favor.

Either way, I was determined to make my parents and ancestors proud, doing what I just had to do.

I was Toby Hamee.

I was a Hork-Bajir Seer, descendant of Dak Hamee and Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan.

I was going to protect my people, one way or another.

* * *

**Esplin**

It took a few days, but finally, I was let out of that horrible prison.

After all, I couldn't take over "The One's" growing followers while I was still stuck in that… _substance_, now could I?

I'm sure he knew that I would have no problems taking over and deposing him. And I was quite sure that he would have no problems getting rid of me if he began to view me as too much of a threat.

It was all a kind of game, waiting for the other to let his guard down, and then strike.

I may have lost my chance to take over the Yeerk Empire… but I knew that there would be eventually be a chance somewhere down along the line where I could take over Setheon's… well, whatever he was going to call it.

I rather doubted that anyone could rule _forever_, let alone _live_ forever (or at least for an unbelievably long time).

In my opinion, the trick was just to stay in power for as long as possible.

I was Esplin 9466.

I was also Lord Esplin.

And some day… I _would_ rule it all.

* * *

**Setheon**

It was a late hour according to my personal schedule, and I was _regenerating_ ("sleeping" may not be the most accurate term) within my private chambers in my inner sanctum.

More slaves were being captured for my Yeerk minions, more ships and weapons were being built, more resources were coming in… and soon, we would be ready to fight.

Of course, I also had my covert people in place. I already had spies and traitors waiting for when the time was right, and I had more to convert to my cause.

Soon, I would rule this galaxy, as part of Crayak's grand design on this plane of existence, while he himself would beat that wretched Ellimist at their little "games." We could shape this entire galaxy – no, this entire _universe_ – as we were to see fit. Almost like father and son, Crayak and I would rule all.

But until that glorious time, we would fight.

I am Setheon.

I am The One.

I am the prodigy of Crayak.

I am the one who will rule it all.

* * *

A/N: …AND THIS FIC IS COMPLETE!

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this, because I certainly did! The next story will be entitled "The Unthinkable" but in the meantime, stay tuned for my next fic, "The Yeerk Chronicles". Rest assured that I will write this "mini-series" and not leave it hanging! After all, I certainly didn't start this whole thing I have going just to end it! –_Quillian_

* * *

_**EXTRA MATERIAL!**_

**OFFICIAL "BACK COVER" SUMMARY!**

Supposing that this was an official Animorphs book, the back cover might read something like this…

_You know the story. You know the heroes, you know the villains, and everyone else in between. You know the battles they fought, you know their successes and their failures. You know how it all began, how it all happened, and how it all ended._

_Or maybe it _didn't _end…_

_What started as a simple mission to rescue Ax from this mysterious being called "The One" somehow changed into something else altogether. There are strange new allies, familiar old enemies, and certainly lots of surprises to go around._

_Where the _Animorphs _series left off, this series resumes. And as our beloved heroes are about to learn, some things change, and some things never do change…_

* * *

**LANGUAGE ROOTS…**

When I first saw the word "Kelbrid" and first tried to imagine what they would look like, somehow the idea of them as birds came to mind. (I think must have been the "-brid" in "Kelbrid.") And since we never see any sentient bird-like races in the _Animorphs_ series, I thought to myself, "_Well, why the heck not?"_

As I was writing this, I found and purchased this _Star Wars_ book by Ben Burtt, who did the sound effects for the franchise ever since Episode IV came out in 1977. It's entitled _Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide_. He got some languages by taking existing Earth languages and altering them to sound sufficiently different. For example, he got Huttese from Quecha, as well as Ewokese from Tibetan, and so people who can speak either language might recognize that language which got edited for the movies. If you want to check out more, then the book shouldn't be too hard to find.

_Anyway…_

As someone who currently studies Latin in college, I figured I'd model the Kelbrid language and names after the Latin language and the phonetics within. Perhaps someday I'll make a complete guide to how to pronounce sounds in the Kelbrid language (and let's face it; since I'm writing this, I just might have to do that eventually), but in the meantime, here's how to pronounce the few Kelbrid names and words shown in this story…

_kar-MAAD­­_ – a rank in the Kelbrid military, which one Vegren Alterr currently holds. (There is no "c" used for writing Kelbrid words with the Roman alphabet, only _k_ or _s_. This is done to avoid confusion with the letter "c," which is sometimes used for both sounds. Also, _aa_ is pronounced "ah," or like a short "o," like in the word _hot_.)

_Veg-ren AL-terr_ – the name of a Kelbrid warrior. (The "g" in a Kelbrid word is always hard, like in the word _gather_, and never soft, like in the word _gem_. If you want that soft sound, then that's what the letter "j" is for. Also, "-err" is pronounced like a short "e," since it's in front of a double "r." Think of the name "Eric" as an example. Otherwise, if it were an "e" in just in front of a single "r," then it would be pronounced "-er.")

_Skib-a KRAE-nell_ – the name of a Kelbrid scribe. (A single "a" is most often pronounced like "uh." The "i" in his name is short. The "ae" diphthong is pronounced like a long "a," like in the word _say_.)

_Savent-I Pakkenna_ – the name of a Kelbrid ambassador. (For the most part in the Kelbrid language, the "i" is short; however, if it comes at the end of a word, it's pronounced "ee.")

_LEE_­_-tan_ – a rank in the Kelbrid military, about equal to a human cadet or Andalite _aristh_. (The double-e is pronounced just as it looks, and the same goes for "tan.")

* * *

**WHAT'S IN A NAME?**

In my honest opinion, one of the greatest and most creative freedoms a writer can have is the freedom to come up with names for his or her characters.

So, where did I get the names of all the new alien characters, you ask?

I just thought that "Vegren" sounded cool. However, it would only be later on after I came up with that name when I found out that in the _New Jedi Order_ book series, there was a Jedi Master named Vergere; she was a Jedi Master situated among the Yuuzhan Vong for fifty years, ever since the Clone Wars, and she was of a bird-like race known as the Fosh. (However, I haven't read any of the NJO books except for the first one, _Vector Prime_ by R.A. Salvatore, so I really don't know much, if anything, about her.) "Alterr" I got, not from the Latin word _alter_, which means "other," but from the Italian word _alto_, which means "high." (Maybe he flies high, gets high up in the Kelbrid military ranks… Who knows?)

"Skiba" I got from the third conjugation Latin verb _scribere_, meaning "to write," which is fitting for a scribe. No idea how or where I came up with "Kraenell," however.

"Saventi" I got from the second conjugation Latin verb _salvēre_, which means "to be well." "Pakkenna" I got from the Latin noun _pax_, which means "peace."

"Aldexen" I got from the name Alexander. Yes, that's the name of the famous and legendary Alexander the Great, but just don't expect many parallels there. (Interesting fact: "Alexander" comes from Greek words and means "defender of men.")

"Sujak" I got from the name of Jonas Salk, who created the polio vaccine. A bit of a stretch, but hey…

In one of the last chapters of _The Andalite Chronicles_, when Elfangor is returned by the Ellimist to where he belongs, the Andalie name "Seerian" is mentioned. However, considering how all the other Andalite pilots were killed before Elfangor jumped into the fray, chances are whoever this "Seerian" was died. Well, either way, I just decided to use the guy's name. Likewise, there was some poor Yeerk named "Arklan" in _The Hork-Bajir Chronicles_, whose name I decided to use for my Yeerk OC.

"Tenrash 223" I got from Temrash 114 (the Yeerk who infested Jake in book #6). I noticed slight differences between some Yeerk names (like "Esplin" and "Eslin"), and figured such a name was likely and sounded "Yeerk-ish" enough. I got the number "223" by taking the number "114" and raising the first two digits by one and decreasing the last digit by one.

"Qualaramoonrun" is a nod to my good friend **Alara Moonrunner**.

Finally, I got "Setheon" from Seth, the name of a dark ancient Egyptian god. Interestingly, "Setheon" is also an anagram of "the ones," and this being is known as "The One."

* * *

**SNEAK PEEK(S)!**

_The next fic in this series will be "The Yeerk Chronicles"._

It will be narrated from the POV of Arklan 256; and it will also show an occasion or more when she and her fellow rebellious Yeerks unwittingly helped out the Animorphs without either party ever realizing it. Sorry, but not much more can be said about it than that!

_The next fic in the series after that will be "The Unthinkable"._

Ooh, now _this_ fic I'm looking forward to… We learn some more about Vegren and a few of the other Kelbrid; we Tobias on the Norshk homeworld (will Ax maybe join him?); anti-alien tensions rise on Earth (think of the Friends of Humanity, a.k.a. the FOH from any _X-Men_ thing, except for aliens instead of mutants, and there you go), making things difficult; a couple of old people from Rachel's life return in more than just cameo appearances; lots of new traitors come out of the woodwork from nearly _all_ the different species involved, one way or another; and lots of _unthinkable_ things will happen, hence the title. Intrigued?

* * *

_Well, time to get writing again… see you later! After all, trying to write you own _Animorphs _mini-series ain't easy! Cheers, _Quillian

* * *


End file.
